Tower Talks with Inside Towers

Latest Episodes:

#54 - 3 Questions with Johnny Broadband - Ronin Revolution May 05, 2021

Show notes

Tower climbing has been cited as one of the most dangerous jobs anywhere.

Even though industry associations and government agencies go to great lengths to establish safety standards and practices, working above ground level is still dangerous.

Beyond just working at heights, a big part of the problem is the physical toll that climbing up and down tall structures demands. Fatigue becomes a critical factor and raises the risk level for workers.

Tools are available to assist climbers in a variety of at-height work activities on cell towers, wind turbines, utility high-power transmission towers, and more.

Bryant Bertrand, CEO of Ronin Revolution has been instrumental in developing such tools. He discusses with John Celentano, Inside Towers’ Business Editor, his company’s invention of, and applications for, the Ronin Lift, an ascender product designed to assist climbers.

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#53 - 3 Questions with Johnny Broadband - Steel in the Air Apr 26, 2021

Show notes

Tower leasing is a big topic these days.
U.S. mobile network operators, AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, are upgrading or modifying master lease agreements with the Big 3 public tower companies, American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA Communications, as these MNOs implement their 5G network builds.
Big 3 towercos cater to MNO near- and long-term needs. But mid-tier and small tower owners and landowners often get into uncomfortable negotiations when MNOs want to locate on their tower or build a tower on their land.
What leasing terms and conditions should apply? What are appropriate lease rates? And how are these rates determined?
Ken Schmidt, President, Steel in the Air, an expert on site leasing, unpacks these issues in conversation with John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor.

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#52 - 3 Questions with Johnny Broadband - Andy Seybold Apr 20, 2021

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First responders – fire, police, emergency medical services - have for years relied on dedicated communications during emergencies using land mobile radios, those walkie talkie devices they all wear.

These narrowband voice communications systems now work together with broadband 4G LTE systems from FirstNet for a whole new way for first responders to communicate via voice, data, and video.

New technologies are providing first responders with enhanced capabilities for communicating both outdoors and inside buildings. Next generation 9-1-1 dispatch architecture is being launched to support these broadband advancements, and whether spectrum should be dedicated to public safety applications or shared with the mobile network operators is debated at many government levels.

Andy Seybold, an authority on public safety communications, shares his insights on these points and more in conversation with John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor.

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#51 - 3 Questions with Johnny Broadband - Pointivo Apr 14, 2021

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‘Data analytics’ and ‘digital twins’ are becoming commonplace terms as the telecom business changes and grows. These terms refer to more and better digitized site information about towers and other wireless infrastructure. Better information means accurate details about the site structure, the installed equipment, and the condition of that equipment.
Better site information ultimately means better decision-making by tower companies and their wireless service provider customers on dispatching tower crews to install, modify, or maintain wireless equipment at any site. Capturing site data and analyzing that data is no longer just nice to have. Increasingly such data is required as the pace and associated cost of wireless deployments picks up. New companies are undertaking the site data gathering tasks, then organizing and presenting that data in ways to support the decision making.
Join John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor in conversation with Dan Ciprari, co-Founder & CEO and Sam McGuire, Director of Business Development at Pointivo, a data analytics company.

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#50 - 3 Questions with Johnny Broadband - Clayton Funk of Houlihan Lokey Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

Announcements of companies buying or selling towers, either as a standalone transaction or as part of a larger infrastructure deal, are happening on a regular basis.

The wireless industry is in an active period with demand growing for towers and other infrastructure assets to support 5G roll outs and various wireless broadband applications.

Recent valuations on towers are as high as they have been for some time.

But what is a tower worth? And what does a typical tower buy or sell transaction look like?

Clayton Funk, Managing Director at Houlihan Lokey joins John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor to share his insights on how to set a price on a tower, and the mechanics of a tower deal.

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#49 - 3 Questions with Johnny Broadband - Modus Mar 22, 2021

Show notes

The telecom industry is in a high cycle of new wireless infrastructure construction of macro towers, small cells, and fiber for 5G and broadband applications.

Through the pandemic, the infrastructure work continued as telecommunications proved to be the essential service.

While all the field work is good news for engineering and installation firms that build the network for the carriers, these companies have their hands full with managing work activity to meet schedule and budget deadlines.

Typically, they are handling multiple projects for a range of customers, often in geographically dispersed markets.

Rowena Okialda, Director of Organizational Development at MODUS joins John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor to discuss the issues and challenges of managing multiple frontline infrastructure projects and how they’ve integrated the Sitetracker into every day operations.

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#48 - 3 Questions with Johnny Broadband - Oku Solutions Mar 15, 2021

Show notes

Before building towers or small cells, wireless carriers must obtain approvals from the local government in whose jurisdictions the infrastructure is being deployed.

Increasingly, carriers want to install small cells on telephone or utility poles, on streetlights or in rights-of-way.

More than just reviewing and approving carrier plans, municipalities must adhere to FCC rules that govern the process including the ‘Shot Clock’ timing mandate, and the Small Cell Order.

Often, what the carriers want and what the municipalities are willing to approve are at odds, leading to litigation.

Part of the problem is that local governments generally lack a basic understanding of telecommunications or are not adequately staffed to handle the volume of requests. COVID-19 compounded the problem as many government offices were closed.

John Celentano, Inside Towers Business Editor discusses the situation with David Witkowski, Founder and CEO of Oku Solutions, an advisor and educator to both municipalities and carriers on navigating and managing the cell site approval process. His handbook on the topic, titled “Bridging the Gap”, can be reviewed here.

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#47 - Tower Safety & Rescue Mar 08, 2021

Show notes

Kathy Gill, CEO of Tower Safety, founded the company in 2013. Today, it offers a wide variety of safety and rescue training options, from cell tower certifications to drone inspections.
According to Gill, “we stand for workplace safety by providing training that empowers individuals. This enables our trainees to do whatever it takes to return home safe, every day.”
In just 20 minutes, Gill and Reed cover a multitude of topics, including the inaugural Tower Rodeo, a rescue app (WRAT) in development, their Women’s Wireless Leadership Forum (WWLF) involvement and of course, the ever-evolving world of safety training.

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#46 - Tower Masters #1 - John Paleski of Subcarrier Communications Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

Inside Towers begins a new series of Tower Talks by focusing on the men and women who, for decades, have not only survived, but thrived as independent operators in the wireless infrastructure field. “Tower Masters” is an apt term for those who have seen “all the Gs,” the rise of the big towercos, the merger of carriers, the influx of new technologies, new FCC rules and, yet, have kept building towers through it all.

John Paleski, Founder and CEO of Subcarrier Communications, is the epitome of an independent tower builder, with over 300 macro towers and 800 rooftop leases to his name and an unquestionable master of his trade. Join John and Inside Towers Managing Editor Jim Fryer as they discuss the unique and candid perspective from, for lack of a better term, “the middle tier” of tower providers. How have they survived the consolidations in both the tower and carrier sector and how do they view the future of the market?

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#45 Wireless Water Cooler #6 - FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: The Exit Interview Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

Join WIA President and CEO Jonathan Adelstein and Inside Towers Managing Editor Jim Fryer at the Wireless Water Cooler with their special guest FCC Chairman Ajit Pai as he reflects on his tenure. What does he consider his greatest accomplishments? What work is left to be done? Does he have regrets? (Spoiler alert, he does not.) What’s in store for him after the FCC?

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