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NATE Statement on Inclusion of FCC Spectrum Authority in "The One Big, Beautiful Bill"

For Immediate Release: May 21, 2025

“For the past several years Congress has been unable to pass the reauthorization of the FCC’s spectrum authority or a spectrum pipeline. This intransigence has hurt thousands of tower climbers and contractors who stand ready and able to deploy next generation connectivity. We applaud the inclusion of the FCC spectrum authority reauthorization and pipeline in “The One Big, Beautiful Bill.’ This will put American infrastructure builders to work and enable the US to truly lead the world in next generation wireless connectivity.”

- Todd Schlekeway, NATE President & CEO

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NATE Statement on Verizon Partnership Agreement/FCC Filing 

For Immediate Release: May 16, 2025

NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, on behalf of its member contractors (who employ tower techs), had a major breakthrough in negotiations with Verizon that was included as part of the official filing/agreement at the FCC for the Verizon/Frontier merger. The following statement can be attributed to NATE President & CEO Todd Schlekeway:

“NATE’s leadership has been engaged in active negotiations with Verizon executives focused on addressing a range of issues and reforms that, when implemented, will lead to a more sustainable and healthier environment for the Association’s member contractors and their tower technician workforce. NATE is excited to announce that these collaborative and respectful meetings have led to an agreement that we believe will lead to positive, impactful reforms for our contractor member companies related to pricing, Master Service Agreements, current 3rd party vendors and mandates, financial audits, and workforce requirements. In the end, as part of the negotiations process, NATE did not receive every request but that is how negotiations go.” 

“NATE would like to extend our gratitude to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and his staff for collaborating with the Association’s leadership and Verizon to help our respective organizations come to terms on this agreement. During his tenure at the FCC, Chairman Carr has invested a lot of time and sweat equity visiting sites and conducting tower climbs with some of America’s best contractor firms and technicians. These tangible experiences have provided the Chairman with a deep understanding of the prominent role that NATE members play daily conducting the tough, gritty work on the frontlines to enable connectivity.”  

“NATE also extends our appreciation to Verizon for coming to the table and brokering an agreement that will ultimately foster a stronger relationship and partnership between the Association’s contractor members and those who count Verizon as a customer. NATE looks forward to the next steps in our collaboration with Verizon, which includes establishing the official working group between our respective organizations.” 

To read the official FCC press release, visit the following link: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-411464A1.pdf. Here is FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's social media post on this subject: https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1923382671842976188.

For more information on NATE, visit www.natehome.com.

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NATE Statement on Nomination of Arielle Roth Serve as NTIA Administrator

(February 4, 2024)

(Washington, D.C.) - NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association today released the following statement on the nomination of Arielle Roth to serve as the next NTIA Administrator. Roth was formally nominated by President Trump on Monday evening, February 3.

"NATE congratulates Arielle Roth on being nominated to serve in the influential position of NTIA Administrator,” said President & CEO Todd Schlekeway.  "NATE has collaborated with Arielle in her previous role working on wireless, telecom, and communications infrastructure policy issues on Capitol Hill. Arielle possesses extensive experience and keen knowledge of the many policy and regulatory issues facing the industry and will be able to hit the ground running on day one on the job once confirmed for this position. NATE is excited to work closely with Arielle and urges the United States Senate to schedule her confirmation hearing and vote to approve her nomination in an expedient manner,” added Schlekeway.  

For more information on the NTIA, visit www.ntia.gov. For more information on NATE, visit www.natehome.com.

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NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association is a non-profit trade association dedicated to providing a unified voice for companies in the diverse tower and communications infrastructure industries. It is recognized as the tower industry leader in promoting safety, standards, and education. Today, the Association boasts approximately 950 member companies (mostly small businesses) that construct, service or maintain hundreds of thousands of communications towers and next generation networks throughout the United States and 12 other countries.

 

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Happy New Year!

I want to take this opportunity to wish all NATE member companies a Happy New Year! Let's all hope 2024 is a safe, healthy, and prosperous year for the Association’s member companies and employees.

ANSI/ASSP A10.48-2023 Standard

The cover story of this edition of Tower Times features a Planning Advisory Notice article titled Overview of the ANSI/ASSP A10.48 and the ANSI/TIA 322 and how they improve communication, quality, efficiency, and safety.

The feature is timely as the article in part details the important updates included in the revised ANSI/ASSP A10.48-2023 Standard – Criteria for Safety Practices with the Construction, Demolition, Modification, and Maintenance of Communications Structures document.

The updated ANSI/ASSP A10.48- 2023 Standard, effective on January 1, 2024, covers the latest safety practices and training recommendations for the construction, demolition, modification, and maintenance of communication structures.

The Association is selling the revised version of the standard and encourages our member companies to order the standard directly through NATE at the following website link: https://natehome.com/regulations-standards/ standards/ansi-assp-a10-482023-standard/.

NATE UNITE 2024

The new year means that the Association’s Super Bowl, NATE UNITE, is right around the corner. The Association is excited about what is in store for NATE UNITE 2024, slated for February 19-22 at the Renasant Convention Center in Memphis, Tennessee. This year’s conference is shaping up to be the largest with the most diverse array of speakers, educational sessions, luncheons, networking sessions, workshops, and events that NATE has ever hosted in one location!

Individuals interested in attending NATE UNITE 2024 and companies interested in sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are encouraged to visit NATE’s website today (natehome.com).

With iconic tourist locations such as Graceland, the National Civil Rights Museum, Beale Street, the Bass Pro Shop at the Memphis Pyramid, and Sun Studios, among the famous destinations, Memphis will be a unique and exciting host city for NATE UNITE 2024. So, channel your inner Elvis Presley, put on those blue suede shoes, and join us in Memphis this February!

All In, Always!

Todd Schlekeway is the President & CEO of NATE. He can be reached at 605-882-5865 or todd@natehome.com

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Chairman's Corner - 2024 Tower Times Magazine Volume 1

What a busy fall this has been, time has flown by since the NATE Summer Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. We are now in the final stages of preparing for NATE UNITE 2024, in Memphis, Tennessee. I am very excited about the plans for NATE UNITE 2024. The Trade Show Committee is continually making improvements and we are encouraged by the early registrations indicating this may be one of our biggest and best shows yet.

November was a busy month with our C-Suite tour to AT&T in Dallas, Texas, down to Houston, Texas, to meet Crown Castle and then up to Bellevue, Washington to meet T-Mobile. These meetings provide a great venue to discuss and better understand the needs of some of our larger customers and it allows us a forum to present many of the issues that are important to our member companies. Topics ranged from matrix pricing, safety metrics, MSA terms, third-party vetting systems, inflation, worker recruitment and retention issues, all the way to regulatory matters and how we can support each other to provide a continual future flow of work, which will support our industry.

A few days later, we went to Denver, Colorado, where Todd Schlekeway received the Jay Kitchen Leadership Award from Radio Club of America. The Radio Club was formed in 1909 and is the world’s oldest professional society for persons involved in the wireless industry. It was a great night honoring the award winners and was topped off by Marty Cooper as the keynote speaker for the event.

November ended with the election of new officers for the NATE Board of Directors. We had eleven candidates running for the four open positions. I want to congratulate Randy Scott and Aaron Paulette, who will remain on the board. Joel Hightower and Casey Banner will both be joining the Board at NATE UNITE 2024 in February. All the candidates did a great job representing themselves and the wireless industry. I would also like to thank Jimmy Miller, who will be stepping down from the board after 10 years of service to NATE. Although Jimmy will be missed in the board room, he will continue to support NATE’s Legislative & Regulatory Council.

December started with my fifth visit to Washington D.C. in the last two years. This trip was to visit several new Senators, Congressmen, Congresswomen, four FCC Commissioners, and the Department of Labor. The topics with the Senators and Congressional Representatives revolved around the spectrum authority delays and the impact that it is having on our industry and in particular the NATE member companies. Simply put, without spectrum, we do not have anything to build. The next topic was the hold up in D.C. over the allocation of new frequency bands for 6G and beyond.

The United States has continually been a world leader in technology and this delay has put us at least two years behind other countries around the globe.

Our last meeting was the signing of the NATE-OSHA-FCC National Strategic Partnership. This new 5-year agreement will allow NATE to continue leading the charge towards identifying trends in the workplace that would otherwise lead to injuries or fatalities.

Over the last two years, the committees have reviewed over 5,500 individual jobsite audits and categorized tens of thousands of data points collected through the NATE STAR participants and other industry partners. If you are not a NATE STAR participant, I would encourage you to consider it. As Chairman, I am very proud to have signed this agreement on behalf of NATE.

Victor Drouin is the Chairman of NATE and President of Green Mountain Communications, Inc. in Pembroke, New Hampshire. He can be reached at 603-717- 7117 or v.drouin@ greenmtncomm.com.

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Welcome to this week's new NATE Members! https://bit.ly/3zUuXgG https://bit.ly/3hlVWLQ https://bit.ly/3UjGFtu https://bit.ly/3UjGDSo For information on how to become a member of NATE visit: https://bit.ly/33ukgBd

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Check out this NATE Member Benefit: Abenity Hotels will save you up to 60% off your next hotel booking. They offer wholesale pricing with rates you can’t find online. Members have access to more than 700K hotel discounts worldwide. https://bit.ly/3DAZ7qn

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NATE EXCHANGE is a convenient source for the most sophisticated and up-to-date training courses in the tower industry and NATE member companies qualify for discounted rates. Find your next training course here: https://bit.ly/3ouV1GP

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Read the Monkeypox Virus OSHA Fact Sheet highlighting specific workplace hazards associated with Monkeypox, describing symptoms and transmission routes, and providing measures that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of exposure to the disease. https://bit.ly/3FMIsmI

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IMPORTANT SAFETY NOTICE: PRODUCT RECALL-DMM Compact Swivel Units: We have been made aware of a near-miss incident involving the failure of a DMM Director connector (A647BS) that parted at the swivel assembly. Stop using immediately and remove from service. https://bit.ly/3DDqsbr

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The optional training courses at NATE UNITE 2023 have been announced! Register for NATE UNITE today and then choose the optional course you are interested in through this link: https://bit.ly/3h90ncW Courses held on 2/23-2/24 in Orlando, Florida

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Read the press release from NATE member company New England Electrical Contracting. “The core values of NEC are the small company feel combined with big company strength and execution,” said Kevin Farrell, CEO of NEC. “We value the blue-collar environment that this industry was built on and are committed to keeping that feel within the organization as we continue to grow.”

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NATE Administrative Team members Kimberly Elliott and Kari Stein are pictured with Safety and Occupational Health Specialist Brian Oberbeck and Accountant Tarro McCray, who are Region VIII OSHA Representatives. They are in Washington D.C. this week attending the U.S. Department of Labor - OSHA Susan Harwood Training Grantee orientation meetings. NATE has received the Harwood Grant for 2023 to develop and offer Electrical Safety Awareness for Telecom Workers Training Courses. Read more about the grant: https://bit.ly/3C1Zzyk

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NATE Unveils the 2022 Guide for Powered Ascender Use of Antenna Supporting Structures by the Safety Equipment Manufacturers Committee (SEMC) https://bit.ly/3FELsS2 This telecommunications industry consensus document is intended to address the use of Powered Ascenders in conjunction with a fixed synthetic rope for personnel ascending, descending and work positioning on telecommunications structures.

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Register Now for the NYSWA Annual Holiday Social on December 15, 2022, from 6:00 - 10:00 PM at the Ukrainian Institute of America: https://conta.cc/3FDObv1

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NATE Administrative Team members Kari Stein and Kimberly Elliott are in Washington D.C. this week attending the U.S. Department of Labor - OSHA Susan Harwood Training Grantee orientation meetings. NATE has received the Harwood Grant for 2023 to develop and offer Electrical Safety Awareness for Telecom Workers Training Courses. Read more about the grant: https://bit.ly/3C1Zzyk

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Women of NATE Announces 2023 Education Scholarship. For more information on how to apply, click https://bit.ly/3bEdCxg. Application documents must be received in the NATE office by January 20, 2023.