Tower Siting & Zoning News  Vendor News New Product News  Letters to the Editor  SWAP News

Tall tower is shortened to five minutes of video August 14, 2008 - It took almost two months of hard work to safely erect a 1,500-foot guyed tower in Deland, FL last October and November, and almost a half million viewers around the world watched a portion of the construction in real time while it was being videotaped. While many people remained glued to the tower's erection, some days as many as 14,000, others preferred to view the daily time-lapse  photography provided each morning. Many people have requested a shortened version of the erection and a five-minute time-lapse video has been completed with Through the eye of a Rigger. WirelessEstimator.com is interested in speaking with erectors and manufacturers that have tall broadcast structures that will be erected in the near future and would prove to be ideal candidates for real time coverage. Please contact info@wirelessestimator.com

Life's crooked stairway to heaven found in NC August 11, 2008 - Tower maintenance workers might consider combining a safety tailgate session and prayer meeting prior to climbing this AM gospel radio station's tower in Plymouth, NC. Tower techs Phil Miller and John Powell of Excel Tower Services were heading down US 64 recently and - almost as if they had been drawn by an overwhelming spiritual calling - they hurriedly pulled over, got out of their truck and stared in unison in disbelief. They had finally seen the light. Well, not quite. In fact, they could barely see the light at the top of the twisted tower. Chances are that if the structure collapsed, it would end up being straighter than its current profile that looks like it's stretching in preparation for some serious Pilates training. If the station's management wants to heal the structure, it's not advisable for them to turn to a higher authority, but to the industry's TIA/EIA 222-G standard that states: "The horizontal distance between the vertical centerlines at any two elevations shall not exceed 0.25 percent of the vertical distance between the two elevations." Here's where math becomes electrifying and the job so satisfying And here comes the most exciting part of tower work where the coveted opportunity arises where any tower technician worth his salt would immediately break his date with Plymouth's voluptuous diner diva to break out his calculator. Using TIA's factor for a 200' tower, 0.25 percent of 200' is .5' or 6", allowing the structure to be off  6" between two vertical points, whether it is 20' or 200'. Therefore, a 400' tower could be out of plumb 12" and a 100' tower's acceptable tolerance would be 3". And if anybody ever dares to question you about those facts, you just get right in their face and tell 'em: "Hell yeah, it's true, I've seen it! It's right there in the tower and antenna design bible!" They'll surely wilt with embarrassment and thank you for not being meek, and throwing away your only opportunity to inherit the Earth, which would have included this structure and all of the other hundreds of thousands of towers around the globe, putting all of the tower CEOs' options under water. But, more importantly, you will have discovered that, this finely weathered 320' southern beauty is allowed to be out of plumb by slightly over 9-1/2". However, this one is so, so crooked that tower techs Miller and Powell are willing to bet six months of per diem that if they can bend it just a few more inches it will easily fit into any airline's carry-on luggage measuring device.

Former cop turned T-Mobile employee arrested in Florida copper caper August 7, 2008 - A former Polk County Florida police officer was arrested last Friday, accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars of excess cell site wire from T-Mobile  where he was employed. Authorities say John Richard Lefan Jr., 41, of Winter Haven faces a felony charge of grand theft. Police say Lefan repeatedly ordered extra material for jobs for cell site builds and then sold the excess copper wire to a Tampa recycling company. Lefan began working last September for T-Mobile's Tampa office at 3407 W Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., according to the Tampa Police Department. Prior to the construction management position he did volunteer work for a year at the Sheriff's Office in 2004, and worked at the Mulberry Police Department from March 2006 to March 2007, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records, He was fired from T-Mobile in March, the Tampa Police Department arrest report says. Police say that during the previous seven months, he stole nearly $130,000 worth of copper wire and obtained more than $43,000 from selling it to CMC Recycling at 1900 N 62nd St. Confronted by an internal investigator from T-Mobile, Lefan admitted the thefts, according to the report. Lefan is being held in lieu of $15,000 bail.

NATE cautions its members about rappelling August 1, 2008 - The National Association of Tower Erectors issued an industry safety alert yesterday evening to its members regarding controlled descent from an elevated structure, more commonly referred to as rappelling. In a statement from the association, Chairman Don Doty said NATE was reminding its members that if they are utilizing controlled descent methods while descending a tower, they were still required to utilize recognized fall arrest equipment. "The fall arrest equipment should be attached to separate engineered anchorage points and when executing a controlled descent, a secondary means of fall protection is required," Doty said. NATE did not state why the alert was being issued, but those close to two recent industry fatalities said that they occurred while the technicians were rappelling.

Site capacity was overwhelmed following quake July 30, 2008 - Cell carriers reported that wireless service was disrupted over a widespread area of Southern California following yesterday's 5.4 earthquake, but not due to equipment damage. An overload of callers shut down service for many cell phone users due to tremendous increases in calls. Of the many hundreds of media photographs that were taken following the earthquake, the majority of them showed people using their cell phones. Complicating the problem were the many people that kept trying and trying to make a call after their first attempt failed. Sprint Nextel said that they had an 800% spike in calls and Verizon Wireless said their volume was 40% higher than what they predicted would happen in an emergency. The state's Office of Emergency Services urged people to curb non-emergency calls because they could cause 911 calls to be blocked. Carriers reported that their service was back to normal by yesterday evening.

"Tower Dogs" takes a media cat nap July 28, 2008 - NBC Dateline's July 21special about tower workers had no follow-up coverage by the mainstream media in the past week, much to the pleasure of many viewers who commented that the "Tower Dogs" crew that was featured projected an unprofessional image of the industry.  A press release issued by the National Association of Tower Erectors following the show was picked up by two industry web sites, but major media outlets have been noticeably silent following the broadcast. "Because we're so close to the day-to-day requirements for climber safety, we see everything through a magnifying glass, through a thicker lens of emotion than the general public that viewed the special," said one industry observer.

New York man dies from apparent fall from tower; California woman is brought down by rescue crew July 28, 2008 - High angle rescue by the Barstow California Fire Protection District helped save a woman's life after she climbed to the top of a 60-foot tower on Saturday, but a young man in his early 20s - not employed as an industry worker -wasn't as fortunate over the weekend when he fell from a cell tower in North Tonawanda, NY. Barstow authorities said the 31-year-old woman had to be rescued after she climbed to the top of the tower and could not get down, screaming until a witness heard her cries for help and called 911. After the estimated 45 minutes she spent clinging to the tower, the woman was suffering from sun exposure and her legs were too numb to climb down, firefighters said. She was strapped into a harness and lowered to the ground. North Tonawanda police say that Michael J. Wolf, 21, of 248 Bryant St, apparently fell to his death from a communications tower owned by American Tower Corporation. Falling is being considered the most obvious cause of death, but nothing has yet been ruled out, North Tonawanda Police Patrol Captain Roger Zgolak said. "It appears as though the male fell from the tower but the circumstances of the fall, as well as what the male was doing inside the secure site are still under investigation," said a press release issued by police. Police said the property was totally secured and locked and the deceased did not possess any type of equipment or tools used for climbing. The Tonawanda fatality was the fourth death in the past four months of a resident falling from a communications tower in a secured site.  On May 17, a Westwood Kansas 17-year-old was climbing a 500-foot guyed tower when he fell to his death. Four days earlier a 42-year-old died after falling from a monopole in Travis County, Texas. He became wedged between the pole's safety climb and an accessory on the tower and dangled there until a resident noticed him hanging at the 30-foot level. On April 26, a despondent 20-year-old man reportedly ended his life after he climbed a communications tower in Warwick, NY and then jumped to his death.

"Dogs" diminished on Dateline say some; others believe it's a mirror image of some crews July 24, 2008 - Some viewers said Monday's NBC Dateline 's "Tower Dogs" was a slice of life program that was very accurate in portraying life on the road of a number of tower crews. Others said it rendered a poor image of the tower maintenance and construction industry, revealed nothing positive, and wasn't reflective of professional crews. And there were many industry folks who maintained the convictions that they held, prior to the broadcast, that it would be a show that pandered to a larger audience with an insatiable appetite for reality programming that relies heavily upon danger, drama and employee conflict peppered with deleted expletives. They were correct. "Tower Dogs" delivered that and more, and came in number two in its time period behind CSI, with approximately 5,120,000 viewers. The opening narration set the stage: Tonight, take a never before journey into their perilous world where one false move can cost a life, and change everything. They spend long days and nights on the road. A family, whose bonds are forged in blood, sweat and steel. They live their lives in the air for their loved ones on the ground. And tonight, somebody won't make it down alive. The common thread holding "Tower Dogs" together was Assistant Secretary of Labor Edwin Foulke, Jr.'s February statement to members of the National Association of Towers Erectors: "Tower climbing remains the most dangerous job in America." And the producers took advantage of it. Some viewers felt that the tower crew members overemphasized the inherent perils of the job, as if the general public observing the high altitude working conditions were incapable of discerning the dangers involved in the profession. Intertwined throughout the 42 minutes were numerous conversations regarding safety. There was a tailgate meeting, an equipment inspection, a classroom session and frequent comments from the narrator, crewmembers and others in the program about the need for 100% tie-off and the requirement to observe proper safety procedures. "Tower Dogs" also had a short segment where Kevin Hayden of NATE reminded viewers to become acutely aware of their environment and to be tied off 100% of the time. "Talk the job out before you start. Constant reminder is a very important aspect of safety," Hayden said. However, NATE said in a press statement that it was disappointed with the approach that Dateline took with its special, and was concerned that the program did not present an accurate view of the professionalism and work habits of most tower crews.  Please see:  Viewers surgically dissected each frame

Painter succumbs at base of broadcast tower site July 21, 2007 - A tower painter was discovered by a broadcast engineer at the base of WDAZ's 1,400-foot tower in Petersburg, ND yesterday. The Nelson County Sheriff's Department responded to a call at about 6:00 P.M. from the station's engineer, Nate Millard, who discovered the body of 38-year-old Darrel Hovde of Mandan. Authorities said Hovde worked for All State Tower Company of Bismarck. Hoyde was working alone painting the tower, Millard said, at about the 100-foot level. When Millard looked out a second story window he said he discovered the tower painter laying on his side in a semi-fetal position. It appeared to Millard that Hoyde had fallen from the TV tower. "You could see where a trail of paint ended about 50 feet up," Millard said. Millard said Hoyde still had his safety equipment on. Hovde's body has been sent to Bismarck for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. If the coroner identifies that Hoyde died from blunt trauma, he will be the ninth communications worker that was killed this year from falling from a communications tower.

New Jersey tech is the nation's eighth fatality July 19, 2008 - Vineland New Jersey Police Chief Timothy Codispoti has confirmed that the nation lost another tower technician this year when a Franklinville man died yesterday after falling approximately 60 feet from a cell phone tower yesterday. Gerard M. Leclercq, employed by Paramount Advanced Wireless LLC of Pennsauken, was working with two other crew members when he fell. The 55-year-old tower technician had been working on a Crown Castle International tower off of Panther Rd. Leclercq, who reportedly had family working for him in the industry, fell at approximately 10:50 a.m. while his two coworkers were on the ground, according to Vineland Detective Sergeant Len Wolf. Investigators from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration were on the scene and investigating the incident until late Friday evening. Paramount Advanced Wireless LLC is a well-known, long-established company that has its roots in the communications industry since the early build-out days of cellular communications. The firm has taken an active role in tower safety and is a participant in an industry OSHA safety alliance. Leclercq's death was the eighth fatality in 2008 of a worker falling from a communications structure.

Climbers to get their day in the sun NBC's "Dateline" to explore the perilous world of tower dogs on July 21 July 16, 2008 - NBC's "Dateline Presents" says it will take "a never-before-seen journey into the hazardous world of the tower climbers who work on the frontlines of America's high-tech communications system." The program, "Tower Dogs," will air on Monday, July 21 at 10:00 PM/ET.   The hour-long broadcast is expected to give an up close and personal no-holds-barred look at tower dogs' lives - up in the air and on the ground. "We experience their on-the-job tension and watch them work hard, play hard, and mourn when they lose one of their own," NBC said in a press release. In a twist on all the dangerous-job programs that solely feature males, typically narrated with muscular prose, "Tower Dogs" follows an unusual tower crew boss: a woman named Nikki Collins, a single mom, former cheerleader, and the person keeping her tough-guy charges in one piece. Although there has been a noted increase in tower construction company owners and climbers that are women, they are in a small minority in a predominately male profession.     The "Dateline" team worked for four months documenting this group of tower climbers as they worked their way through 40 towns and cities in 24 states. During this time there were seven fatalities nationwide, including five deaths in a 12-day period in April. Please see: National exposure long overdue, say many

North Dakota's broadcast tower will be taller, but riggers are on their own for dinner July 14, 2008 - Construction is set to begin this month in Sumida, Tokyo's less developed eastern side, on the 2,000-foot Tokyo Sky Tree tower slated to be completed in 2011 when Japanese broadcasters switch entirely to digital communications. Although it is guyed, the world's tallest communications tower is located in Blanchard, ND where KVLY-TV's tower gingerly pierces the clouds with the third planet from the sun's finest solid rod body jewelry fashion statement extending 2,063 feet. The Tokyo Sky Tree will be the world's highest self-supporting broadcast tower with a gourmet restaurant near the top. Unfortunately, North Dakota tower techs are unable to enjoy fine culinary offerings at the Blanchard site, but riggers can still heat up their dinner from the available KVLY radio frequency, even at reduced power levels, unless they'd rather sample sashimi. In another year, the Tokyo Sky Tree will be a bit short, however, of the tallest multi-use tower in the world, with the Burj Dubai nearing completion at over 2,953 feet in the Gulf Emirate. With tens of thousands of hand holds, it might be tempting for King Kong to climb the Tokyo Sky Tree and disrupt digital broadcasters. The biological anomaly's last visit to Tokyo from Skull Island was in 1955. But it has been documented through tests on the Empire State Building beginning in 1933 that gigantic gorillas suffer from vertigo while climbing on structures 1,500 feet or more above ground level, become easily disoriented and plummet to earth, killing hundreds of sub-primate mortgage brokers below -- giving rise to the Japanese maxim of Hear no evil, speak no evil, but enjoy evil to the hilt when it's rightfully deserved. It would be easy to presume that the Japanese communications tower was named Tokyo Sky Tree so that after a 15-minute visual balloon test it would receive zoning approval when Tokyo's eight million residents would not even notice it since it blended so nicely into the city's surroundings, such as the 2,000-foot DoCoMo church steeples, pagodas, Hinomaru flagpoles, barn silos, monopines and other faux tree-like structures that invisibly line Tokyo's bustling streets. Not so, explained Sumida's mayor, Noboru Yamazaki, who said a nationwide poll was held to choose the name, and concealment was not an issue. "The name gives an impression of a new town striving towards the sky while adapting to the natural environment," said Mayor Yamazaki, one of the members of the name selection committee. Jack and the Digital Beanstalk was reportedly axed in the first elimination round.

DC Court temporarily pulls plug on FCC's backup power requirements July 9, 2008 - The Federal Communications Commission's rules for backup power at cell sites were short circuited yesterday after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit  said it will not rule on wireless providers' challenge to backup power rules until federal administration budget officials complete their review of the controversial guidelines designed to respond to communications failures from Hurricane Katrina. "We are pleased with the court's decision  to keep the stay in place while the FCC completes its work on this item," CTIA spokesman Joe Farren told the Associated Press. The CTIA, Sprint Nextel and others sued, stating that the rules would require backup power in tight, urban locations and would be a financial burden upon the nation's wireless providers. They said the thousands of generators or battery systems required would be expensive and local zoning rules or structural limitations could make installation impossible in some places. The FCC previously offered a compromise to carriers, saying there can be exemptions wherever it's impossible or unsafe to install generations or alternative backup power sources. However, the FCC never presented its rules to the federal Office of Management and Budget, which is required by law. "Because none of the backup power rule's requirements takes effect until OMB approves the information collections, the case is unripe and we shall hold it in abeyance pending OMB's decision," the court wrote. The FCC Katrina guidelines call for a minimum 24 hours of emergency backup power for telecom assets inside central offices and eight hours for other facilities such as cell sites, remote switches and digital loop carrier system remote terminals. FCC spokesman Robert Kenny said the agency had no comment on the court's action. He said the FCC was reviewing the ruling to decide when and if it would submit the rules to the Office of Management and Budget. There are about 200,000 cell sites in the U.S., with tower companies operating about 115,000 sites and operators controlling 85,000 sites, according to RCR Wireless News.

Minnesota mount failure serves as an excellent tailgate session July 9, 2008 - A mid-June T-arm failure in Minnesota is being given serious scrutiny by the wireless carrier it serviced, but more importantly, the full sector collapse is serving as an excellent reminder to climbers throughout the country: rely upon the tower structure or a man basket for safety, not a mount. Although the failure looks like the heat-effected zone of the weld was either under-designed or overstressed and the square tubing steel yielded over time, an exact cause has not been identified. Safety directors and operations managers of many companies are using the photographs to remind their employees that man baskets and/or controlled descents are the only ways to approach T-arms or other mounting accessories.

Thieves take out 360-foot guyed tower while taking out copper in Tennessee July 7, 2008 - To combat the growing problem of copper and other metal thefts throughout the state, a new Tennessee law went into effect on July 1, requiring scrap metal dealers to only take a valid ID such as a drivers license or state identification from those people selling them scrap metal. Buyers are also required to take a right thumbprint on ink or by scan. Tower owners were cautiously optimistic that it would help to cut down on the number of larcenies within the state. Their hopes were short lived. On Saturday morning, thieves attempting to steal copper coaxial cables from a Tracy City 360-foot guyed tower, cut the guy wires, and caused the entire structure to collapse. The tower is owned by Wireless Properties and was leased by DTC Wireless. A replacement tower had been obtained in Iowa over the weekend and erectors will begin installing the tower this week. Grundy County Sheriff Brent Myers says the two suspects in this case could be responsible for another theft. Even without toppling a tower, copper thieves can cause tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage, according to tower owners, both large and small. Last month, Frosty Towers, Inc. of West Plains, MO had one of their 80-plus tower site compounds broken into in Hollister. The thief removed a ground halo system, severely damaged an entry door and cut the fiber optic cables to the site. According to Blake Bowers, Frosty's Vice President of Operations, the thieves started to remove the coax from a lower power translator station, causing it to go into high VSWR alarm and it possibly scared them off. An additional alarm was installed at the site, and just five days later, on June 22, a Taney County Sheriffs Department officer responded to its activation and arrested Carl Thompson, 43. Thompson, this time, allegedly cut locks, removed air conditioner coils, took more wiring and did additional damage to the former AT&T Long Lines site. Thompson is charged with theft/stealing, a class C felony in MO, but according to the prosecuting attorney, further charges are pending. Thompson has a number of previous felony convictions, and the Taney County Prosecutor's Office is expected to charge Thompson as a habitual offender, with a 20-year no parole sentence. The Hollister site damage total was in excess of $100,000, according to Bowers. This was the fourth break-in Frosty had in a week's time in three states. Missouri requires scrap metal buyers to keep records of all transactions. Copper theft is an endemic problem throughout the nation and is being combated on multiple levels, from new legislation to increase penalties for those convicted of stealing, to measures such as recently undertaken by Albany, GA police who will have officers at each of the three recycling businesses in the area. Within Frosty Towers' portfolio of towers on their web site, there is a listing for a site in Pen Mar Park in Hagerstown, MD. An added benefit, it says, is: "24-HOUR ARMED GUARDS!"

What could serve as a model for the nation, Encompassing Michigan tower safety standard set for July 15 public hearing in Lansing June 30, 2008 - New safety requirements to protect workers on communication towers have been proposed by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, MIOSHA, which will hold a public hearing on  the new regulations on  July 15.   Michigan will follow North Carolina as the second State OSHA to specifically address communication tower construction safety. North Carolina approved their standard in 2005. Concerned about tower workers' safety, MIOSHA wanted to develop a safety standard that incorporated the most up-to-date best practices for working aloft, but the effort to draft a standard failed on the state's first try because a workable committee couldn't be assembled. However, MIOSHA never lost sight of the importance of ensuring that communications tower workers arrived home safely every evening and under the guidance of Construction Safety and Health Division Supervisor Tony Allam and Terry Sharp, Jr., co-chairman of the standard's group, tower company management and MIOSHA officials sat down again in March 2006. This time the committee knew it had the talent and cooperation from tower industry professionals to put together a draft standard that represents the best practices across the nation. Please see: Disagreements were resolved

Drinking on the job is highly recommended June 26, 2008 - The high temperature yesterday in Phoenix was 105° F. Miami topped out at 86° F. So, does an Arizona tower tech have a more excruciating summer work environment than his Florida counterpart? When you factor in humidity, it could be exactly the same conditions. Known for its high humidity, oftentimes at 90%, Florida's 86° F temperature would be equal to Arizona's 105°, according to heat index calculations. But company managers will tell you it's not the bragging rights that concern them, but the potential for hot weather to lead to dehydration, heat exhaustion and heat stroke if their tower workers fail to properly hydrate themselves. Such was the case yesterday evening when an unidentified tower worker in Queen Creek, AZ, had to be rescued by Rural Metro when he became light-headed and had to call for help. The tower tech was reorienting two antennas that became misaligned after a storm blew through the Phoenix area yesterday when he suddenly felt like he was going to pass out at approximately 90-feet on a self supporting tower. "Once I got up there, I got pretty thirsty, and I think that led to it. It was from the heat of the day, working hard all day, working this late and exerting too much energy," he said. His two co-workers contacted Rural Metro and a special rescue team was sent up to bring him back down at 8:30 p.m.  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health provides many excellent tips  about working in hot environments. They point out that in the course of a day's work, a worker may produce as much as two to three gallons of sweat. They note that most workers exposed to hot conditions drink less fluids than needed because of an insufficient thirst drive. The health group also cautions that salt tablets should not be used, and if for some reason salt replacement is required, adding a little extra salt to food should be enough. Gatorade is a common work site staple, but seasoned climbers recommend that it should be mixed with approximately two parts water to reduce the sugar content. Coffee and soft drinks should be avoided during extreme temperatures. The caffeine can have a dehydrating effect on a worker's body as well as cause a racing heartbeat.

Arrest of Florida woman puts an end to illegal family-run cell site enterprise June 24, 2008 - Volusia County, FL sheriff's deputies said they apprehended an Edgewater mother and her son while they were stripping a cell site of its copper. The two, along with a third man who got away, are linked to as many as 20 other thefts from across Central Florida. Workers at the fairgrounds near DeLand spotted a suspicious truck near an AT&T tower and noted that the fence around the tower had been cut. The suspects ran, but deputies found tools and several pieces of cut copper at the tower site. Thirty-six-year-old Maria Fish was found hiding in the truck and her 17-year-old son later came out of the woods nearby. Deputies think he was the lookout. They also found copper, likely stolen from a tower in Umatilla, in the truck. The widespread theft of copper from grounding systems as well as copper transmission lines is fast becoming one of the tower industry's most prevalent and costly problems. Although many states are getting tough by providing increased penalties and jail time, thefts are rising steadily across the nation.

Alltel's CEO reveals failed attempts to acquire Sprint Nextel, AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile June 23, 2008 - According to a report in the Arkansas News, Alltel had tried to buy Sprint Nextel before Verizon Wireless acquired Alltel on June 5. In an exclusive interview with the Arkansas News Bureau, Alltel CEO Scott Ford told columnist Roby Brock that the company tried to do "everything we could to get a national platform," including making three bids for Sprint, as well as trying to acquire T-Mobile USA and AT&T Wireless. Ford reportedly said that in these bids it sometimes went in with partners and sometimes tried on its own. "The credit markets fell apart and Sprint fell in the tank almost right on cue, but they fell so, they fell so totally apart that there wasn't really an opportunity to go get them either," Ford said. Alltel also found itself on the ropes after it failed to acquire any spectrum in the Federal Communications Commission's 700 megahertz wireless spectrum auction dominated by AT&T and Verizon, Ford said. Ford also reportedly said he is working with Arkansas's Governor Mike Beebe on ways to counteract the possible major layoffs in the state. Verizon is reportedly considering maintaining a call center in Little Rock, and positioning a regional headquarters at Alltel's campus, but it remains likely that the area will suffer cutbacks and some employees may have to relocate. Verizon's acquisition of Alltel, expected to close toward year's end, raises concern among Alltel employees and Arkansas officials as hundreds of jobs hang in the balance. Infrastructure providers are also concerns as to how the deal will effect their business. The Verizon/Alltel deal was reportedly put together in less than a month, say informed sources. .

ATC's CFO Brad Singer leaving to join Discovery June 16, 2008--American Tower Corporation announced that its Chief Financial Officer, Brad Singer, has decided to leave the company to pursue an opportunity as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Discovery Communications, LLC. Singer joined American Tower in September 2000 and has served as its Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since December 2001. His last day as Chief Financial Officer is anticipated to be June 30, 2008. He is credited by many as one of the primary leaders responsible for the success of American Tower. Analysts said that the Singer hire is a clear sign that Discovery's IPO is well in hand, and that the transaction should close before the end of the third quarter. As CFO, Singer will be responsible for leading the global financial functions and future financial strategies of the company and will direct all accounting, treasury, budgeting, and tax activities. Jean Bua, Executive Vice President, Finance and Corporate Controller, will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer upon the departure of Singer. Bua will report directly to Jim Taiclet, American Tower's Chief Executive Officer. The company will be initiating a selection process that will consider both internal and external candidates to succeed Singer. Taiclet said, "On behalf of all of us at American Tower, I want to thank Brad for his tremendous contributions during his more than seven years at the Company. Brad played an integral role as part of our senior leadership team and in developing and implementing our operational and financial strategy, and his efforts have helped establish the strong position that our Company enjoys today. On behalf of everyone at American Tower, I wish Brad every success in the future." Commenting on his time with the ATC, Singer said, "I have enjoyed my years at American Tower, and I believe that this is the appropriate time to begin the next stage of my professional career. American Tower has great employees, outstanding assets and has the strategy in place to capitalize on them. I am gratified with what we have achieved together, and I believe that American Tower's strategic and financial position and talented leadership team will enable the company to continue to succeed as a leader in the telecommunications industry."

Verizon's acquisition of Alltel is a go, but its effect upon the industry is uncertain June 5, 2008 - The following news is five bars clear: Verizon Wireless said today that it will buy Alltel to beef up its network for about $28.1 billion.  Once completed, the deal will catapult Verizon's wireless business ahead of AT&T Wireless, which falls to an enviable and close No. 2, followed by Sprint/Nextel and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile. The combination of Verizon, based in New York, NY, and Alltel, based in Little Rock, AR, will create a company with more than 80 million subscribers. What is not obvious is what the effect will be upon tower owners, contractors and suppliers. And if it was possible to track down Verizon's horn-rimmed glasses-wearing test technician, it's doubtful that he could add much more. The industry expressed almost similar results. "I can't forecast what could possibly happen with our business," explained one west coast Alltel cell site contractor. "I don't know what to think yet; it's either a blessing or curse. Only time will tell," he said. However, management from two of the major U.S. tower owners said that they believe that the news doesn't bode well for their companies. Although their current contracts will secure Alltel lease revenues for a period of time, once the deal closes at the end of the year, Verizon will begin to assess what redundant sites will be decommissioned. Tower owners' lease-ups were effected following the AT&T and Cingular merger when approximately 6,000 to 8,000 cell sites were decommissioned. It is too early to assess how many sites will be redundant following the Verizon/Alltel merger, according to industry observers. A number of them believe that, percentage-wise, it will be less than the AT&T acquisition since Alltel has a considerable number of sites in rural markets not covered by Verizon. One national tower owner executive thinks that there could be a benefit to vertical realtors following the sale. Since Verizon said it would save around $1 billion in incremental cost savings in the second year after the agreement closes, he believes that the savings might possibly be used to expand their network where they still lack coverage. In addition, he said, when Verizon finds underperforming or duplicated towers in a ring, they might sell those to tower consolidators that will be able to fill a void in their coverage areas. Some companies might be unaffected or positioned to benefit from the sale, such as Harris Stratex Networks, Inc. Providing turnkey microwave radios for backhaul and point to point systems for Verizon and Alltel, they can now focus upon serving one client. But there might be a need for them to review consolidating their installation and maintenance contractors. Some of Alltel's contractors for co-locations and new builds are concerned as to their business outlook since many of them are not entrenched with Verizon's construction group. It is not known how the merger will affect KGI Wireless. The Austin, TX firm currently manages Alltel's 3,500 cell site locations, representing more than a third of their managed sites. Verizon is not known for actively marketing their towers, providing an opportunity for KGI to assist them with both portfolios. However, there is the possibility that Verizon might bring the co-location business in house. Alltel and Verizon Wireless both use a common network technology, which provides advantages of a seamless transition for Alltel customers, ease in integrating the two companies' networks, and scale efficiencies in operating the larger integrated network. Identifying an accurate number of the two companies' towers is as elusive as what might happen to site acquisition, contractors, suppliers, tower owners and others that will feel the merger's effect. Verizon doesn't provide any published statistics, but industry estimates indicate that the carrier owns between 3,000 to 4,000 towers. KGI says that Alltel has more than 3,500 towers.

From  the landowner's perspective... "Why is there all of this interest in my cell tower lease all of a sudden?" By Ken Schmidt June 2, 2008 - In the last few years, landowners with cell tower leases or rooftop cell site leases are being bombarded by inquiries from the lessees and from third parties alike. To the uninformed landowner, the bombardment appears to suggest that there is increased value in the underlying lease agreement. If not, why would all of these third party companies be contacting the landowners? The inquiries take the following shapes:    Cell Tower Lease Renegotiations - Direct: A tower company or cellular carrier directly contacts the landowner in an attempt to negotiate a reduction in the lease rate. There is often either an implicit or direct threat that failure to negotiate will cause termination of the underlying lease agreement.   Cell Tower Lease Renegotiation - Indirect: The tower company or cellular carrier retains the services of a third party optimization company that will attempt to negotiate a reduction on behalf of the carrier for a percentage of the savings going forward. These companies can collect upwards of 30% of the savings. The optimization firms typically use high pressure sales techniques from salesmen who have little to no experience in wireless.     Cell Tower Lease Buyouts - Direct: The large tower companies attempt to purchase the remainder interest in the ground lease from the landowner. Typically, these transactions are structured as a purchase of a perpetual easement in exchange for a lump sum of 10 years or more worth of the current rent amount.    Cell Tower Lease Buyouts - Indirect for the cash flow: There are a number of companies that were created solely to target the acquisition of the ground leases and rooftop leases. The companies purchase the leases via a fixed term easement or an assignment of lease and a successor lease that kicks in for a defined number of years at expiration of the original lease.    Cell Tower Lease Buyouts - Indirect for takeover of the tower: There are a few companies and individuals who are aggressively contacting landowners with towers who have multiple tenants. These companies are buying the ground rights under the tower under a perpetual easement with the purpose of taking over the ownership rights in the tower directly at the expiration of the ground lease. These companies target towers in difficult zoning areas where replacement or relocation would be impossible. Then at the expiration, they will negotiate a reduced lease rate with the current tenants in an attempt to get the wireless carriers to "encourage" the tower company to silently release the tower. The tower companies call them "vultures". Please see: Landowners find inquiries baffling