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Monday, February 5, 2018 Volume 6 | Issue 9

FCC In-Fighting Thwarts Tribal Tower Siting

The subject of increasing rural broadband deployment on Tribal Lands was the subject ofunusually public bickering late Friday between FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn andChairman Ajit Pai.

Clyburn issued a statement asking why almost a year has gone by and the item is not out, sincePai “repeatedly claims that closing the digital divide is among his top priorities.” She continued:“As my colleagues in the Majority are fond of saying, companies need certainty. I agree. With a

substantial percentage of those living in rural areas of Tribal lands lacking high-speed broadband, the time is now foran up or down vote that will ensure that these communities do not lose the connectivity they desperately want andneed.”

Pai, meanwhile, blasted back with a response, noting he circulated an item to colleagues in February 2017. The orderwould increase federal funding for broadband infrastructure on Tribal lands, explaining such siting is difficult, withhigher operational expenses than on non-Tribal land. Continue Reading

LouisianaSmall Cells Must Be in “Harmony” With Their Surroundings in ShreveportThe city of Shreveport has experienced a 100,000 percent increase in wireless traffic, so what does that mean for thefuture of wireless infrastructure, especially as it relates to small cells?

The Shreveport City Attorney's Office recently released a draft of a proposed ordinance regarding small cell towersestablishing "a uniform and comprehensive set of standards" for companies wanting to create Wireless TechnologyFacilities. The Shreveport Times reported the ordinance stems from carriers such as Verizon Wireless and AT&Tapproaching city leaders and encouraging them to prepare for 5G since existing structures are maxed out from acapacity standpoint. The draft ordinance puts forth the most comprehensive blueprint of the city’s current vision todate and contains specific provisions intended to "protect and promote public health, safety, community welfare andthe aesthetic quality of Shreveport."

According to Assistant City Attorney Karen Strand, "We look forward to receiving all comments, written and verbal,

during this review and adoption process.”

Specific provisions of the ordinance state that all facilities must comply with FCC regulations concerning radiofrequency and electromagnetic frequency emissions, structures must have the ability to co-locate, and small cellsmust blend in with their surroundings. These and other measures are included to enable the antennas to “harmonize”with the community. MarylandMotorola Lands County Contract For Public Safety SystemAnne Arundel County, Maryland, announced a $48.4 million capital construction contract with Motorola Solutions toreplace and improve its public safety radio system, according to Tetra Today.

“Three years ago, Anne Arundel County began undertaking the largest public safety infrastructure upgrade in itshistory,” said Anne Arundel County executive Steve Schuh, in a press release dated January 9. “This public safetyradio system upgrade is crucial to those efforts. In any emergency, effective communications between firstresponders is critical.”

The project will replace all first responder mobile, portable and network radio equipment and will comply with P25public safety radio industry standards, and the County expects this will provide improved interoperability between itsneighboring jurisdictions. Continue Reading

Pai Pushes to Commercialize Spectrum Above 95 GHzWireless companies have been pushing the FCC to open up more spectrum, especially in the mid- and high-bandrange, for next-gen use. The Commission will vote on a proposal later this month to allow testing of new wirelesstechnologies in frequencies above 95 GHz.

In 2016, the agency sought public input on possible uses for this spectrum. Suggestions ranged from fixed wirelessservice to backhaul for 5G to WiFi-like unlicensed applications to next-gen satellite services, according to FCCChairman Ajit Pai.

He circulated to his colleagues a Spectrum Horizons proposal, which seeks input on whether to make available up to102 gigahertz of spectrum for licensed use. Two-thirds of that spectrum would be shared with satellite services,according to Pai in a blog post. “Just to give you a sense of how much spectrum that is, most spectrum currently inuse for common commercial services—everything from AM radio to WiFi—takes up less than six gigahertz total,although we continue to push the bounds higher,” says Pai. “I’m also asking whether we should allocate 15.2gigahertz of spectrum for unlicensed use in four different bands.” Continue Reading

Grain Management Buys Controlling Interest in Fiber FirmWANRack, LLC announced last Thursday that D.C.-based Grain Management, LLC, a private equity firm focused oninvestments in the communications sector, has acquired a controlling interest in the company. The capital from thisinvestment, according to the announcement, will enable WANRack to advance its growth in the private fiber Wide-Area Network (WAN) market.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with Grain Management to take our company to the next level,” said Rob Oyler,WANRack CEO. “The additional capital and sector expertise that Grain Management brings to this partnership willaccelerate our expansion into larger markets and additional lines of business.” Continue Reading

February 2, 2018 at Close

Sprint Posts Q3 2017 Amid Mixed Reaction

On Friday, Sprint reported operating results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2017,including its highest retail net additions in nearly three years, with postpaid net additions of256,000 and prepaid net additions of 63,000. The company also reported its eighthconsecutive quarter of operating income and the highest fiscal third quarter adjusted

EBITDA in 11 years.

"This momentum, along with a continued focus on the cost structure, is driving improvements in profitability metricsand adjusted free cash flow," said Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure.

Sprint said it is “unlocking the value of the largest mobile broadband spectrum holdings in the U.S. and its Next-GenNetwork is designed to drive significant improvements to network performance and the customer experience byinvesting in four main areas,”

Upgrade existing towers to leverage all three of the company’s spectrum bands – 800 MHz, 1.9 GHz and 2.5GHz – for faster, more reliable service.Build thousands of new cell sites to expand its coverage footprint and extend coverage to more popularcustomer destinations.Add more small cells -- including Sprint Magic Boxes, mini-macros and strand mounts to densify every majormarket and significantly boost capacity and data speeds – and leverage the recent strategic agreements with

Altice and Cox. The company has already deployed more than 80,000 Sprint Magic Boxes in approximately200 cities across the country and plans to deploy more than 1 million as part of its multi-year roadmap.Deploy game-changing 64T64R Massive MIMO 2.5 GHz radios to increase capacity up to 10 times that ofcurrent LTE systems and increase data speeds for more customers in high-traffic locations. Massive MIMO, akey enabler for 5G, will allow the company to support both LTE and 5G NR (New Radio) modes simultaneouslywithout additional tower climbs. Continue Reading

PennsylvaniaHouse Bill 1620 is Unpopular With Bucks County “Munis”Last month, township supervisors in Hilltown and East Rockhill, PA approved resolutions opposing House Bill 1620,which aims to streamline the process of constructing new towers and antennas by bypassing varying localregulations. In a memo attached to HB 1620, co-sponsored by Representatives Nick Miccarelli and Frank A. Farry,Miccarelli explained that the bill is designed to “provide for the uniform, efficient and predictable regulation of smallwireless antennas to improve the provisioning of wireless communications services and the deployment of high-speed wireless broadband.” According to the Bucks County Herald, many residents are not convinced by thisargument, and feel that HB 1620 represents government overreach and steamrolls municipalities’ rights.

To keep up with booming demand for wireless service, wireless companies currently doing business in Pennsylvaniamust navigate a labyrinth of 2,562 local governments’ different regulations, fees, and procedures, according to theBucks County Herald. Miccarelli argued in his memo that compliance with local ordinances is “burdensome, timeconsuming, costly and not only impedes but sometimes outright prohibits the deployment of small cell wirelessinfrastructure needed to meet consumer demands.” HB 1620 does still allow municipalities’ control with “commonsense limitations,” and would benefit residents by allowing new towers to be swiftly deployed in areas with insufficientsignal.

AT&T Considers Sale of Data CentersAT&T hired Bank of America to look into a divestiture of its data centers, according to Market Watch. With the data-centers earning about $135 million before EBITDA, they anticipate multipliers in high-single-digit range, or $1 billion-plus, depending on the quality of the facilities.

Verizon sold its portfolio of data centers last year to Equinix Inc. for $3.6 billion, CenturyLink Inc. sold its facilities for$2.3 billion to a consortium led by private-equity firm BC Partners and Windstream Holdings divested its data-centerbusiness in 2015 for $575 million to TierPoint.

AT&T hopes to better focus on its core businesses: wireless and video, Market Watch reported.

Chinese Carriers Get Government-Run Towerco to Lower Leasing RatesThe Big 3 Chinese carriers, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, in an effort to lower their leasing costs,re-negotiated the terms of their tower rental agreements with state-run China Tower, according to Mobile World Live.The carriers cited rising lease rates as having a negative impact on their total operating expenses in 2017.

The new terms of the five-year agreements will cut the “markup margin rate,” the amount they are charged aboveoverhead costs, from 15 percent to 10 percent, effective retroactively from January 1, 2018. In addition, the carrierswill receive a discount on the base price for co-locations that will increase from 20 percent to 30 percent for twocompanies at the same site and from 30 percent to 40 percent when all three carriers are on the site. The discount forthe anchor tenant remains at five percent. The new rates are in effect until December 31, 2022, Mobile World Livereported.

China Tower was formed by the central government to reduce “redundant construction of telecoms infrastructure,”with the mobile operators transferring their tower assets worth an estimated $36 billion, to China Tower in 2015.

Teleco South Florida Adds Three ExecsTeleco South Florida, a Deerfield Beach, FL based National Technology Provider of Cellular DAS, Public Safety DASand Structured Cabling Systems, announced the addition of Wayne Puffer, Andrew Mancone and FlorenciaHernandez to their executive staff.

Wayne Puffer, a U.S. Navy veteran, has nearly 25 years in the telecommunication industry. For the last sevenyears, Wayne has been focused on the wireless market for In-Building Cellular Enhancement DAS and PublicSafety DAS First Responder Networks.Andy Mancone has over 30 years of experience in computing applications, communications applications andtechnology solutions platforms. Andy has extensive experience in RF optimization which lends itself well to theemerging market of Cellular and Public Safety DAS.Florencia Hernandez is a native Argentinian and fluent in both English and Spanish and has over 20 years ofexperience in B2B and B2C Sales, Marketing, Graphic Design, Brand Management and Event Planning forboth the Latin American and U.S. Markets with a strong background in the Telecommunications Field (DAS,Public Safety & Test equipment).

New YorkGoshen Gets Pitched on Low-Impact Small CellsMobilitie LLC addressed Goshen (NY) Village Board members on January 22 about improving cell phone capacity forresidents without “digging up the street,” according to The Chronicle.

Using graphic illustrations, Mobilitie representative Paul Costa told the board that the equipment is "small and simple"and would be attached to an existing utility pole located on the corner of S. Church St. and Bruen Place. Theequipment includes an antenna on top of the utility and a side box.

Village Attorney David Donovan noted that wireless equipment, although banned by ordinances, may be allowedunder the legal doctrine of public necessity if Mobilitie can demonstrate that it meets the legal requirements of thisdoctrine. If it does not, a zone change would be required for the project to move forward, The Chronicle reported.

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Make the Most of NATE UNITE 2018NATE UNITE 2018 is the place to interact with key decision makers inthe broadcast and telecommunications tower erection, service andmaintenance industry. NATE UNITE continues to grow in size and scope,and is the premier event of the year, centered on industry safety. We arethrilled that Inside Towers' own Managing Editor Jim Fryer will be amoderator this year. If you want to drive traffic to your booth or increaseyour appointments during the event, you should be running banner adswith us. Our subscribers are avid NATE attendees and decision makersat their respective companies. To take advantage of our currenttradeshow special, contact your sales rep today.

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Williamstown, MA contributed by Scott Smith.

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