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Subscribe • Advertise Thursday, January 31, 2019Volume 7 | Issue 21

Polar Vortex Puts a Chill on Tower WorkBy Jim Fryer, Managing Editor, Inside Towers

The challenges of working in wintery conditions are welI-documented and usually well-handled by extra layers, aheated truck and a good thermos. But often the best decision is no climb at all until the conditions subside. The sub-zero freezing temperatures brought on by the latest winter blast often means the latter and has virtually halted towerwork across the Upper Plains and Upper Midwest.

The cold temps can create frost on all structures hindering a safe climb for a technician, according to BarbaraHoudek, CEO of Trillium Tower Development.

“Frosty towers have been problematic this year,” Houdek said. “Our policy is if the temps are around -10 or -15 withno wind chill, a 2-hour service call can be completed on a tower….such as changing a radio head on a sector orproviding a re-lamp on a tower. Winds dictate our capabilities out in the field. Which is usually the case, so basically-10 to -15 is the limit to our willingness to work on site,” she said. Continue Reading

And Now There Are FiveBy Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief

In a very short meeting Wednesday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai thanked staffers who continued to work during the partialgovernment shutdown, and welcomed new Commissioner Geoffrey Starks to the dais. The event, which lasted lessthan 20 minutes, was delayed three hours because the federal government opened late yesterday due to frigidtemperatures that brought ice, cold and wind to the Washington D.C metropolitan area.

“For the first time since last June, we are at full strength,” Pai said. He noted for most of January, staffers were living,“under a cloud of uncertainty.” The staffs of the Emergency Operations Center helped address 176 events, includingproviding support to a 911 call center. The Enforcement Bureau field offices handled spectrum interferencecomplaints, including air traffic interference at four separate airports in four states, he noted.

Staffers who were furloughed, will get paid by the end of this week, thanks to employees who manually updated timecards during the shutdown, according to Pai. Continue Reading South CarolinaAfter Flood of Approval, a Water Tank is Rezoned for a TowerThe Town of Mount Pleasant's Planning Commission unanimously approved a request by Mount PleasantWaterworks (MPW) to rezone a 145-foot water storage tank that’s been used for cell service for over two decades.The 84-year old tank has not held water since 1991, reported the Moultrie News.

Currently, it serves as a support structure for three cell phone providers, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T.

MPW is currently looking at options to retain cell service in the area as they attempt to lessen the burden ofmaintenance and liability of the tank. To maintain the structure, MPW will need to spend $1 million; to remove thetank and install a concealed, 170-foot monopole would cost nearly $500,000. Continue Reading

Shields: Create the Future, Learn from the Past, Manage the PresentFounded in 1979, Shields is dedicated to becoming the leading (OEM independent)provider of services to telecom network operators. Shields’ mission is to bring structuralchange to the way telecom network operators source and maintain their networks byrevolutionizing processes, resulting in substantial efficiencies and cost savings. “This year marks our 40th year in business and with that, we’re focused on creating the

future for our customers and achieving significant growth goals for the company,” said Daniel Jones, Shields CEO.“We’ll accomplish this by focusing on three pillars: equipment, services, and software, which will help us better servethe needs of our customers.” What was once widely considered to be a “recycling” company for telecom equipment in its home country of England,Shields has already expanded outside of that box, providing asset management to the global market by embracingsoftware as a service early on. “Because of our legacy, we have historically been seen as a recycling company, especially in the U.K., but we’re somuch more than that. We have been performing equipment sales, asset management and redeployment services for20 years,” said Jones. “We are now pivoting the business towards a software-based model. We’ve truly become atech business driven by software.” Continue Reading

ASR, TCNS Are Back On-Line, Filing Deadlines ExtendedThe FCC is now supporting the Tower Construction Notification System (TCNS), Electronic Section 106 System (E-106), Universal Licensing System (ULS), Antenna Structure Registration (ASR) system and EnvironmentalAssessments again. The Licensing Management System, Consolidated Database System, Electronic Comment FilingSystem are also available. The agency extended some filing deadlines, now that it’s resumed normal operations afterthe partial government shutdown.

The Commission suspended most operations from the middle of the day on January 3, through January 25, for a totalof 23 days. Some electronic filing and database systems were unavailable from January 3, until January 28.

Because parties did not have full access to some electronic systems and databases during the shutdown, theCommission, decided that overall, filings that were due between January 3 and January 7, were due yesterday, onJanuary 30. Filings that would otherwise be required to be filed between January 8 and February 7 will be due forfiling on February 8. The same deadlines apply to fee payments that can only be made through the FCC’s Fee FilerSystem. Continue Reading

January 30, 2019 at Close

AT&T Reports Q4 Earnings With CapEx Below Estimates

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) reported strong Mobility results in the fourth quarter, claiming soliddomestic wireless service revenue growth with record fourth-quarter wireless servicemargins. (On a GAAP basis, domestic service revenues declined 3.0 percent; however, ona comparable basis, service revenues grew 2.9 percent).

“Our top priority for 2018 and 2019 is reducing our debt and I couldn’t be more pleased withhow we closed the year. In 2018, we generated record free cash flow while investing atnear-record levels. Our dividend payout as a percent of free cash flow was 46 percent for

the quarter and 60 percent for the year, allowing us to increase the dividend for the 35th consecutive year,” saidRandall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. “This momentum will carry us into 2019, allowing us to continue

reducing our debt while investing in the business and continuing our strong record for paying dividends.”

“This lower capex is surprising,” said Jennifer Fritzsche, Senior Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities, citing the $5.3Bbeing well below their $7.2B estimate (Street: $5.8B), “or was $4.2B net of $1.1B FirstNet reimbursements.” ContinueReading

Crown Castle Announces Proposed Offering of Senior Notes

Crown Castle International Corp. (NYSE: CCI) is beginning a public offering of senior notesdue 2029 and senior notes due 2049, in each case subject to market and other conditions.The company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay outstanding

borrowings under its existing revolving credit facility.

The offering is being made pursuant to the existing effective shelf registration statement filed with the Securities andExchange Commission (SEC). The offering will be made only through a base prospectus and a supplement. Copiesof both may be obtained by contacting Barclays, J.P. Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated,MUFG and TD Securities, the joint book-running managers of the offering. An electronic copy of the preliminaryprospectus supplement, together with the accompanying prospectus, is also available on the SEC's website.

MassachusettsCitizens Group Wants a “Cell-Free Belfry” at Local ChurchBarnstable, Massachusetts approved a building permit for T-Mobile to install six concealed wireless antennas inside alocal church last spring. The decision led an opposing group called the Centerville Concerned Citizens to beginpushing for a “cell-free belfry,” the Barnstable Patriot reported.

The Centerville Concerned Citizens believe the RF emitted by antennas is a health risk, so the group hired anattorney and attained a stop-work order for the project shortly after it began. The group brought their concerns to theBarnstable Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA.) On January 28, the board opened the case for public comment.

Centerville attorney Paul Revere III said T-Mobile’s permit should have been denied because their request is “spotzoning.” Co-chair of Centerville Concerned Citizens, Janet Davis, said it’s unfair for a small group of people to make adecision that affects the entire community, and her group requested the immediate removal of the antennas. ContinueReading

The Rise of Wireless Infrastructure Companiesby John Celentano, Contributing Analyst, Inside Towers

How can wireless service providers continue to make massive capital expenditures innetwork infrastructure when their service revenues are flat or declining? The short answer is:they can’t!

U.S. wireless carriers collectively invest nearly $30 billion a year to expand and maintain theirnetworks just to keep up with mobile data demand, even as cumulative service revenueshave flatlined around $178 billion for the past three years. That computes to a capitalefficiency of around 17 percent which suggests network expansion. But with expected 5G

deployments involving hundreds of thousands of large and small cell sites alike (see, ‘Counting Cell Sites’), carrierbalance sheets and income statements are not beefy enough to keep up the pace.

Time for Another Bell Break-up?One answer: separate the services business from the network.

In the Bell System monopoly, vertical-integration of services and network made sense. Remember AT&T’s slogan:“The System is the Solution.” Anti-monopoly challenges eventually forced the first Bell System break-up. Noweconomic and competitive forces are at play. Even the biggest carriers are struggling to balance requisite capitalinvestments to stay competitive while keeping shareholders happy. Continue Reading

Drones, OSHA Inspections and Your Legal RightsNow that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has approved the use of drones for safetyinspections, businesses must evaluate what this change means to them. The National Law Review, suggested thatorganizations start educating themselves on drone regulations as they figure out how to adopt this new technologyinto their business models.

While drones are now authorized to aid in workplace inspections, they are expected to assist, rather than replace,humans. Before launching a remote inspection, OSHA rules state that the inspector must, “obtain express consentfrom the employer.” If an employer refuses a drone inspection, the business will need to have a back-up plan in place.One option would be to conduct a manual inspection. Continue Reading

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks Names StaffNew FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks appointed several staffers yesterday. Daudeline Memo is the Acting Chiefof Staff and will advise the Commissioner on wireless and international issues. Meme was previously Deputy Chief inthe International Bureau’s Telecommunications & Analysis Division and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s legal advisorfor wireless, public safety and international issues.

Michael Scurato is Acting Legal Advisor for media and consumer protection. He comes from the EnforcementBureau, where he was Special Counsel. He too, was a legal advisor to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn as well as VicePresident of Policy for the National Hispanic Media Coalition. And Randy Clarke is Acting Legal Advisor for wirelineand public safety, following his role as FCC counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee.

IndianaFirstNet and Cradlepoint Overcome Connectivity Issues for First RespondersIndiana public-safety agencies are using FirstNet and Cradlepoint mobile routers—both in-vehicle and pelican-casesolutions—to quickly establish broadband connectivity in almost any location without the need for satellite backhaul,according to a state official.

Tyler Clements, field service coordinator for the state of Indiana Integrated Public Safety Commission (IPSC), saidthe IPSC is using Cradlepoint COR Series mobile router solutions with FirstNet Ready™ MC400 modems for mobilecommand networks established for planned events and emergency response. Urgent Communications reportedbroadband access helps command personnel coordinate activities on many levels, from communicating withpersonnel in the field to using social media, to keep the general public updated about an ongoing emergency.

Although applications to address such situations have been available for years, they only became operationallypractical when IPSC switched to FirstNet service with priority and preemption in March 2018, Clements said.Continue Reading

Recent ReleasesLatest posting from the FCC 1/25/19

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See You at NATE UNITE

Inside Towers Marketing Director Megan Reed and Inside Towers Managing Editor, Jim Fryer will be at NATE UNITEnext week. Email them to set up a meeting while you're there. Looking forward to another great show this year!

SAC Wireless: Join the Largest Wireless Construction Company in the United States

SAC Wireless is looking for experienced tower climbers across the US who are ready to join our fast-growing celltower construction teams!

What you will get:

Competitive hourly pay rateUp to $125 per day per diemPaid time off and paid holidaysMedical/Dental/Vision/401kBest in class training programNew for 2019 – Quarterly cash incentive program

To apply, click here or send your resume through here.

MasTec Network Solutions: Full Crews

MasTec Network Solutions is looking for full crews through General Contractors andSubcontractors. We offer benefits like industry safety training and certifications and equipment and trailerleasing, interest free for 18 months! With expedited payment terms, productivity bonuses,and mobilization fees, it doesn't get any better than partnering with MasTec!Call (205) 422-1218 or email Jordan.Bankston@mastec.com.

Communications Tower Group (CTG), LLC: Project Coordinator

Charlotte, NCFull-time position responsible for property management, maintenance, reviewing legal documents and zoningand project timelines. Email to apply.

Big Sky, MT contributed by Brandon Fouch.Email your tower shots or upload them here. Please be sure to include the tower location.

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Managing Editor: Jim FryerWashington Bureau Chief: Leslie Stimson

Reporter: Keara M. Piekanski Contributing Analyst: John CelentanoMarketing & Advertising: Megan Reed Creative & Advertising: Cara Aston

Advertising & Classifieds: Phil Cook

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