Welcome to this week’s edition of cell tower industry news, brought to you by Towercrews.net.
The tower tragedy in West Virginia we reported on last week that led to 3 deaths had something of a precedent for multiple parties involved. The towers are owned by SBA Communications, which suffered a tower climber death less than a year ago. The company has mostly remained silent except to send condolences for the latest events, but is fully cooperating in an investigation surrounding the accident. The company hired by SBA to work on the towers, S&S Communications, had already been cited for serious violations of safety by OSHA in 2009 after the death of a climber. OSHA is still investigating the cause of the recent collapse.
Fortunately for SBA Communications it wasn’t all bad news recently. The company said that its subsidiary, SBA Senior Finance, has secured financing to the tune of $1.5 billion. The company plans to use the money to retire existing loans, pay off some balances, help with the Oi acquisition and other “general corporate purposes.”
Seems like copper thefts are becoming more common in the tower industry. There’s a new report of theft of this important metal in Beacon Falls, Connecticut. The theft reportedly took place over the course of the past three months on a tower used by AT&T, Verizon, and Nextell.
In DAS news, it looks like all four major carriers (Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile US) are signed on to supporting the brand new Levi’s Stadium, which will be the new home of the San Francisco 49ers this fall. All of them will be utilizing a DAS system courtesy of DGP, DAS Group Professionals, which is promising to “exceed fan expectations” on opening day, so if you’re there, put that system to the test! In other sports-related DAS news, TE Connectivity has announced that its advanced mobile services now powers several areas in the NBA and NHL. Also, DeltaNode will debut fiber optic DAS equipment at Mobile World Congress later this month.
More Cell Tower News
- A judge in Sauk County, WI upheld the placement of a cell tower located on the grounds of a high school football field, despite community protest.
- Tower industry blogger Wade wrote an entry on an essential piece of climbing equipment, the fisk.
- Original plans for a 120ft cell tower in Redding, Connecticut have been upgraded to a 150ft monopole.
- Emergency responders are in favor of a new cell tower in Seymour, Connecticut, despite protests from the community.
- The saga of a new tower in Durham, NC will see the next events in the decision unfold in April.
- A Verizon cell tower in Los Angeles, CA is experiencing interference due to fluorescent lights, of all things.
- Chelsea, ME will hold a public hearing on the sale of cell tower lease.
