Cell Tower News: Third man charged in tower thefts

by Jarad Matula August 21, 2015

written by Jarad Matula August 21, 2015

Third man charged in N.J. tower thefts

New information has been released related to the cell tower thefts RCR Wireless News reported earlier this week.

There is now a third man being charged by Paterson, N.J., police in connection to the string of 15 cell tower equipment thefts. Louis Alvarado, 46, was charged in connection to four tower equipment thefts in which police can confirm his participation. Police also are investigating two unrelated burglaries and right now Alvarado is the primary suspect. Alvarado, like his two accomplices, is homeless.

For those who missed the original story, two homeless men were charged with 80 counts of burglary, theft and criminal mischief in connection to 15 cell tower equipment thefts. Every major carrier was hit by the thefts, with towers from AT&T Mobility, Sprint, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile US all being affected. According to Paterson Police Director Jerry Speziale, more than $125,000 worth of damage was caused among all of the thefts and burglaries.

This is just the latest in string of cell tower equipment thefts that have happened over the past few months.

Man creates his own ‘cell tower’ for broadband

What do you do when your cell signal is far superior to your Internet signal? In some rural areas, broadband options are incredibly limited while cell towers exist even in remote areas. One man in the U.K. decided to take matters into his own hands, building a wooden tower outfitted with an LTE adapter inside a toolbox, running the signal to his house with fiber optic cable. Because of his ingenuity, his Internet signal increased from 1 megabit per second to 69 Mbps. Take a look at his rig and prepare to be impressed by his DIY construction.