A new rule from the US Department of Labor unveiled on Tuesday will extend overtime eligibility to millions of salaried workers by raising the salary threshold in two phases. Starting July 1, the threshold will be set at $43,888 annually or $844 per week. It will increase to $58,656, or $1,128 per week, beginning January 1, 2025. According to the …
Omaha stakeholders’ roundtable addressed the state of broadband connectivity at all levels
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association was invited to participate in a roundtable event hosted today in Omaha, Nebraska by U.S. Senator Deb Fischer and FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr. NATE President & CEO Todd Schlekeway represented the Association at the roundtable, which was held at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce Headquarters. During the event, Senator Fischer and Commissioner Carr …
Tillman Fiber will light up Florida with cutting-edge broadband internet access
Tillman FiberCo, LLC, a leader in fiber optic broadband infrastructure, announced the expansion of its 100% Fiber-to-the-Premise (FTTP) network in Florida. Tillman Fiber’s network will serve the Tampa Bay, Panhandle, South and South West, regional areas, including the cities of St. Petersburg, Fort Myers, Naples, Pensacola, Miami, Palm Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, and Kissimmee. In collaboration with a tier-one U.S. mobile operator, Tillman Fiber will deliver symmetrical gigabit broadband internet access …
New ADA lawsuit tells American Tower, T-Mobile and AT&T to relocate their tower or reconfigure their network with beamforming antennas
After American Tower, AT&T, and T-Mobile did not respond by February 1, 2024, to Duluth, Minnesota resident Marcia Haller’s request to mitigate RF levels that continued to make her ill at her home (as detailed on February 29, 2024, by Wireless Estimator), and caused 51 strokes, her attorneys, being paid by the Children’s Health Defense’s Electromagnetic Radiator & Wireless program, filed …
Study reveals 73% of underground fiber deployment’s cost is in labor, 67% for aerial
The Fiber Broadband Association has announced the results of its 2023 Fiber Deployment Cost Study, conducted by Cartesian, which provides the industry’s benchmark to help fiber broadband service providers evaluate their cost profile and identify areas of inefficiency. FBA’s comprehensive study identifies that, on average, labor contributed to 73% of underground build costs and 67% of aerial costs. The study also provides regional …
Broadband construction gets a boost withe Peyton Allen Resources partnering with TelForce Group
TelForce Group, a leading provider of staffing solutions in the telecommunications sector, announced its strategic partnership with Peyton Allen Resources, a respected veteran-owned business which provides broadband construction crews. This collaboration will enhance the quality of service in the telecommunications, broadband and construction sectors, combining the strengths of both companies to deliver unparalleled results. Ron Deese, CEO of TelForce Group, …
FBA and WIA spotlight TIRAP’s remarkable growth: From one company in 2017 to currently 100 employers
The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) is celebrating the Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA) and its Telecommunications Industry Registered Apprenticeship Program (TIRAP) as it signed an agreement with its 100th industry employer. FBA and other telecommunications companies and industry organizations work with WIA to develop apprenticeship programs accredited by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), including training for a broad range of career paths, including …
Big policy decisions loom over the future of America’s wireless networks, says WIA CEO Halley
By Patrick Halley, President and CEO, WIA – Wireless Infrastructure Association Access to broadband – fixed and mobile – is table stakes for participation in today’s Internet-driven economy. Hence the billions of dollars coming out of Washington to connect every unserved home in America. That’s good news for consumers who remain on the other side of the digital divide. Beyond a …
Net neutrality, axed under Trump, have Democrats looking for a revival
The Federal Communications Commission voted 3 to 2 along party lines today to move forward with its proposal to reinstate open internet rules that were repealed during the Trump administration. A final vote is expected to come next year. The move would reclassify broadband internet as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, opening the …
SpaceX says AT&T and RWA’s opposition to satellite direct to cell is a ‘desperate 11th hour campaign’
AT&T and the Rural Wireless Association (RWA) have coordinated “a desperate, 11th-hour campaign” to prevent SpaceX from testing its mobile coverage from space in partnership with T-Mobile with “baseless procedural claims while offering no substantive reasons” for denying its special temporary authority (STA) approval, SpaceX said in a filing with the FCC. Although Dish isn’t a voting carrier member of RWA …
BEAD funding will go to lions and tigers and bears, oh my! – Senator Ted Cruz’s investigation
Led by Senator Ted Cruz, Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee released a scathing report Friday that identifies that the Biden administration’s $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program duplicates a number of other subsidy programs and is a shell game for funding “beachfront communities, mountain wedding venues, and mansions.” They also called out the administration’s BEAD rules that exclude …
Charleston’s historic skyline is degraded by a 5G mono toilet paper pole: residents
Founded 353 years ago, the City of Charleston, SC, is one of America’s most beautifully preserved architectural and historical treasures. It boasts the first public college, museum, and playhouse in the U.S., and unfortunately, as The Post and Courier has labeled it, the first “toilet paper tower” that has become a “prominent and regrettable Charleston landmark.” The publication’s editorial excoriated the erection …
Doctor Joyce examines a tower site to appreciate how the industry can assist in curing the digital divide
Although Crown Castle’s safety protocols do not require having a medical doctor on a tower site when technicians are present, one was available for Novotech Construction’s safety-conscious tower techs recently should a medical emergency present itself during a recent tower compound visit by Pennsylvania Congressman John Joyce. Dr. Joyce has represented Pennsylvania’s 13th Congressional District since January 2019 and has …
Virginia broadband railroad crossing fee lawsuit says one price endangers site safety
The Association of American Railroads wants a new Virginia law streamlining broadband providers’ access to railroad property invalidated. In a federal court lawsuit, it alleges that it amounts to an illegal taking and violates both the state and U.S. constitutions. They said it treats railroads, unlike any other landowner, “seizing from them and giving broadband service providers a permanent easement …
Associations are swift with accolades for allocations after State-by-State BEAD funding is announced
Ecstatic industry associations were quick to applaud Monday’s White House announcement concerning BEAD allocations for broadband infrastructure deployment, where five states snagged over $10 billion of the $42.5 billion in available funding. State by State funding amounts are available here. “Today is another milestone step in the process to ready the states and territories for the deployment of this generational …
Five states snag over $10 Billion of $42.5 Billion available in broadband funding
The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) today announced how it has allocated funding to all 50 states (VIEW ALLOCATIONS BELOW), the District of Columbia, and five territories to deploy affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service to everyone in America. This “Internet for All” initiative is a key component of President Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda. States, D.C., …
NATE’s work zone protection safety video is a must view for ground level projects
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association announced today the official release of a video on Work Zone Protection. The video, the second to debut in Volume 6 of the Association’s popular #ClimberConnection series. The video shines a spotlight on the safety best practices associated with Work Zone Protection, specifically relating to the appropriate use of temporary traffic control devices, proper …
While burning contractors and suppliers, Nexius’s facade exposed a possible terrorist cell site security hole
As Nexius used ‘every trick’ to keep contractors working, although the company knew they would never pay them, the wireless infrastructure developer reportedly continued scamming T-Mobile by using a Nexius-aligned company in Lebanon that was prohibited from accessing T-Moble’s network – possibly exposing a network security threat to the nation’s second-largest mobile operator, according to sources familiar with the ruse. When …
Over 5,200 infrastructure jobs are on the line as QualTek Services teeters on the edge of bankruptcy
UPDATE: May 3, 2023 – A spokesperson for QualTek said that the company’s employees’ jobs were not at risk, and the turnkey infrastructure provider will “continue to be a workplace of choice.” They issued the following statement: “QualTek is continuing to actively negotiate with our creditors and is progressing towards a resolution that will position us for the future with a stronger …
Eleven Senators say no to the NOFO prioritizing criminal hires for $42.5B BEAD infrastructure funds
In a joint letter to Alan Davidson, who heads the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a partisan group of 11 U.S. Senators were emphatic that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) overstepped its bounds when it wrote the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program that addresses how $42.45 billion will …
