Wade4Wireless BlogCast

The Wireless Job Search Helper!

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Happy Thanksgiving USA! I am thankful that I get 2 days off for this, how great is that? I worked through enough holidays to thank GOD that I have 2 days off. Yes, as I get older I really appreciate my time off so that I can create this content for you.

Most asked questions to me? “Are you hiring?” and “Who is hiring?” I have told many of you people where to find a job. So I thought it would be a good idea to lay out some sites that most of you could find work. I get people reaching out to me all the time for work. By dog-tags_clearbackgrondthe way, the best thing you can do is look for work and reach out to your contacts to see who is hiring. As much as I hear people ask me “Dude, can you hire me today?” it really is not the best way to get a job. Especially when I give so many of these people websites and advice and they say they don’t’ have time to do any of it. Clicking on a website and completing the forms takes time, but it helps you prepare for the job search and get clarity on what you need to do.

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Build a resume. Name, contact information like email and phone numbers and address. The put on a list of certifications along with previous jobs. RCR did a good story on this http://www.rcrwireless.com/20141007/workforce/how-to-become-a-tower-climber-resume-building-job-search-tag8 that may help you. Remember, be honest. If you lie and get caught it will come back to burn you. I know many people keep some things quiet but this industry is pretty small and tight. However, if you tell someone the last guy is a jerk, they may agree with you. They may hire you anyway.

The best thing you can do is build a good network. Many good people out there, who are easy to get along with, can get a job by word of mouth. I hear about this on Facebook all the time. Remember that I may be looking soon, so for all of you reading this, think of me! One more thing, the more bridges you burn the fewer options that you have. Friends are great and the more you help the better off you are. Let’s look at the formula for getting recommended: Good worker + friendly + quality work + honesty = good recommendations.

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I recommend building a profile on LinkedIn so that companies can easily see your profile. This way they know that you are a real person, not some guy screwing people out of hours and equipment. By the way, a key part to fitting the profile is not to steal equipment. I see on forums about people that screw companies all the time. Most of you will react to this by saying, “well look at what they did to me!” I am not here to argue, but respect is a 2 way street. So if they screw you, quit. If you are good and you have a good network, you should be able to find something. There are always exceptions, depending on where you live and what you want paid.

Another thing you can do it track your credentials, your certificates, everything you have been trained for on this job. Keep the certificates. If they are PDF forms or emails, keep them on a personal email account or personal computer and on a thumb drive. You can also use a service like QRedentials which has free registration right now. http://app.qredentials.com/Organizations/Details/19

Also, it pays to learn. Reading books, blogs, and listening to podcast are for people that are interested in becoming better. That’s why I put together the Wireless Deployment Handbook for LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS, so that you have an edge on others that do deployments. I also put out a newsletter which has learning links in it so that the people that read it really gain expertise in what part of the deployment they may be interested in. Unfortunately, to be honest, some people I talk to really don’t’ care, they just want a job, not a career. Do you know the difference?

So where do you look? Let’s look at this list here.

What if you want to do contract work?

Finally, don’t forget to look on Craig’s list. That is very local, but I see jobs posted all the time, for instance I listed some below. I don’t know why they list on Craig’s list, it doesn’t seem professional to me, but it may be very effective.

There you go, good luck.

By the way, so you know about being a 1099 employee or have you been one? Tell me about it and sign up for my newsletter below. I want to do a story on the 1099 employee and I need input on the good and bad.

Be smart, be safe, and pay attention.

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

 

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Learning Links

EXFO software updates found here. http://explore.exfo.com/ASR-4-8_landing-page-Download-Software.html?mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRokuqXOcu%2FhmjTEU5z17OkqX6C%2FlMI%2F0ER3fOvrPUfGjI4DTMBgNa%2BTFAwTG5toziV8R7XBKM1n0MYQWRnj

Interested in millimeter Wave Active Component characterization? IEEE has a free class.  https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=1074634&sessionid=1&key=C79D5A8C8C385038E68D9DDC06109AEA&sourcepage=register

What is LTE? http://www.extremetech.com/mobile/110711-what-is-lte

LTE quick guide as a good tutorial.

LTE Roaming explained http://www.tutorialspoint.com/lte/lte_network_architecture.htm

How does Wi-Fi work?   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmabFJUKMdg or try https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=METB1o4UAT8

Nationwide SAR Initiative training for Law Enforcement https://nsi.ncirc.gov/(X(1)S(nituqbbxnkutkve3r1a52t1o))/training_online.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Telecommunications Best Practices for Missing Children https://www.ncjtc.org/AmberAlert/Courses/DistanceLearning/Telecommunications/Pages/default.aspx

MIMO Tutorial http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/cellulartelecomms/lte-long-term-evolution/lte-mimo.php

Interested in learning more about fiber? http://fiberu.org/

Are you Rope Access certified? Do you know about SPRAT? It is rope access certification for anyone who would be on a tower, in a tree, or scaling a wall.

LTE Tutorial: http://www.radio-electronics.com/info/cellulartelecomms/lte-long-term-evolution/3gpp-4g-imt-lte-advanced-tutorial.php

 

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Who will Bid on FirstNet?

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That’s right, with the RFP coming out in December, probably on 12/31/2015. We are all anticipating the release. For so many reasons. Who will bid on it? Who will risk it? Who will take a chance on building the nationwide LTE system for public safety? Is it real or did the government just waste tens of millions of dollars? I built a hypothetical list just for you. We talk about this all the time, especially at work because of the $6.5B, yes, billion dollars that is up for grabs. I know, they had $7B, but honestly, how much will trickle through the government before the contractors and OEMs see any of it?

Well, I hope it is real because it is a lot of work. What’s that, how did they waste all that money? Well, first, FirstNet spent a ton of money putting together their group and going through several people to get the stability it needed. Remember this; government can’t just go and build with investor money. You have to play nice with all the government agencies that want favors in return. Remember that everyone has a kingdom to protect. One thing they should know is that this would bring a lot of work to every state and every industry.

Let’s not just look at the federal money spent, the states spent a crap ton of hours preparing for this and trying to figure to build a case to opt out. I don’t think any of them will but they spent the cycles trying to build a case to get out of it. Why? That’s their job, to weigh both sides so they can make an educated decision.

As for spending so far, look at the road shows , the testing, the labs, the promotional work, the states hiring consultants (which does not come out of the federal money but your state taxes), the congress and senate burning time on this, the companies that are preparing to respond. All this is money and time spent for something that we all hope will happen.

Sorry, that is off the point, let’s get back to the bidding contenders. Who can take this on? Who is interested? Well, I have built a hypothetical list of groups that I know of. Now understand that some people don’t want to bid on it. I built this list because we have been talking about this all week with the RFP coming up.

OEMs – like Alcatel-Lucent/Nokia and Ericsson. Honestly, it’s too big and I don’t think they can do what FirstNet wants. The draft RFP dog-tags_clearbackgrondmade it clear that FirstNet wants to partner with a carrier for roaming purposes. It will also be more of a build, operate, maintain, and handoff model which the OEMs don’t want to deal with. Think about it, would you want to finance a network like this just to sell equipment? That’s what Sprint is looking for, how is that working out?

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System Integrators – who? I made a list below

  • Rivada – they seem to think that they can build a relationship with the carriers to use the FirstNet spectrum. They have a plan to let the carriers bid on the spectrum to generate revenue. Cool idea in concept, I wish them the best.
  • General Dynamics – They want to and they are big enough to do it. But, can they fit the model? Can they manage this without getting a black eye? Can they work a deal for roaming?
  • Motorola – Will their deal with Ericsson make them a contender? Did LA-RICS give them a black eye or show they got experience? Motorola used to be a power house in public safety, in fact, they were the team to beat in wireless communications at one time. That’s right, they did everything from car radios to satellite to paging to cell systems to cell phones to Nextel. They were the team to beat in public safety. You could not walk into a site without seeing the batwings exposed on equipment. If you don’t know what I mean, then you are too young to understand. By the way, do you still see the Motorola Logo in sites? Of course, but not like you did 20 years ago, you know I’m right! They also did networking equipment in the days of framed relay and modems, (if you’re asking what that is, use Google to look it up, again, I am in my 50s, get over it). The flaw I see here is that Motorola did not learn from the carriers by partnering with one OEM, how stupid? All the carriers knew better. They know that you need 2 or 3 OEMs to play it safe and keep innovation alive and make it competitive. I say that they made an obvious mistake right up front, in my opinion.
  • IBM – Why not? They are big enough and I would say they could do as well as Motorola. They would build processes to handle all of this and they could make it happen and they could build the relationships with the carriers as well as anyone on this list.
  • Black & Veatch – I believe they could do it but would they want to when they could just as easily do regional work for any of the above? They are positioned well for the deployment, but FirstNet wants so much more than to deploy a network, too much for Black and Veatch to want to deal with. I think they know what they are good at, managing deployments, they don’t want to get in over their head with the operate and maintain.
  • Others – Who else could do this? I am sure there are plenty that when they look at it they think they could, just like the little engine going up the mountain, “I think I can, I think I can” but when they read the RFP, they will see it’s so much more than deploy, it deploy, operate, maintain, provide immediate coverage. That’s a huge plate to fill for any one company especially when FirstNet wants a SPOC, (single point of contact).

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What about carriers? Here is the target audience for what they are looking for. Voila! You have the target integrator for FirstNet because you have an instant carrier. This is what FirstNet wants, at this moment in time. This is what I see as the master plan. The RFP will have all the requirements to build a system on top of a system using that valuable spectrum. Too bad the carriers are having 2 auctions prior to the actual deployment. You see they now have spectrum. Let’s list them out one by one.

  • Verizon – this is the target but does Verizon want to do this? It doesn’t appear so. They already make a ton of money off government phone contracts and they have a government division. They seem to have a pretty solid and profitable business. Do they want to do this for some spectrum that they may or may not be able to use? Ask them, I believe that they know if the system has an issue or if the relationship sours they will lose more in the long run with public image and future government contracts.
  • AT&T – Here is a contender that may sign up because they love more spectrum, they need more spectrum, and they appear to be interested. They could do it but could they meet the land mass coverage that is required of FirstNet? I don’t think they could and I don’t think that they want to, but if they sign up they will be required to. Is it worth it?
  • Sprint – Seriously, Sprint, don’t they have to get going with the densification project after cutting over $2B from their budget? They don’t want to deal with anything like this right now.
  • T-Mobile – They won’t want to cover all that FirstNet has and chances are good they don’t want to deal with it. It is a large offer. Too large for them to really take seriously at this time. They certainly don’t want to cover all the landmass that will be required.
  • CCA members – They probably can’t cover the land mass without T-Mobile and/or Sprint, too bad. I think that this group would be awesome at this,. Seriously, if they could step up and take this on. I know that CCA probably couldn’t manage this on their own, they would need help, but I have a list above of plenty of system integrators that would be happy to help.
  • T-Mobile with all the members of CCA – Awesome! I would love to see this happen because CCA could cover most of what T-Mobile can’t, and these teams could do it! I also believe that the spectrum would be very valuable to the CCA members. Seriously, they could use it since they don’t get many breaks on bidding with the FCC. Deep pockets generally win. T-Mobile, again, won’t want to deal with this but if CCA could build a team then T-Mobile could step back and concentrate on the network whilst CCA manages the build and integration while T-Mobile could operate and maintain. All that for some extra spectrum and $6B. Suddenly this team would make a play for #2 with coverage if they looked like one system. Hey, just my thoughts here.
  • AT&T with CCA Members – Here is an ideal situation, again, in my opinion. AT&T already has interest and they have the network and the experience. CCA could fill the holes. They could cover the landmass that AT&T can’t or doesn’t want to. What a concept. Could AT&T and CCA work together, who knows! I would like to see it but it probably won’t happen. I think this is what should happen since it could really change the landscape of the industry. One more thing, it would really put Verizon in a tough spot because these 2 together would over shadow Verizon’s network. T-Mobile, being a member of CCA, probably would not let this happen. Sprint is also a member of CCA, but they have their own problems to deal with, they might protest but I don’t think that they would get in the way.

Did I miss anyone? Let me know below the links. I just think we need to see that FirstNet really limited their options by asking for a single company to deploy. That’s what happens with you only want to deal with the SPOC. They will soon realize how hard that can be, to only get information from one person. If you’re like me and every other analyst I know, you will soon realize to listen to many sources before making a decision. Even then you can be wrong, but you have done your due diligence.

There is one option I didn’t mention. The states could build it. If this went back to the states, what would happen? I think we can tell the active states would kick ass. I mean the big boys like Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, and many more. They want to move ahead and move now. I believe they don’t want to wait. They seem to have an exact idea of how to deploy. Unfortunately they don’t see any good way to opt out, it could lead to disaster. They also are hoping to use their backhaul assets for the system, but if the carriers are used, that probably won’t happen.

By the way, I am looking forward to getting a ton of small cell and DAS work from this in about 3 years, seriously, there is a lot of work coming if this happens. Oh, there I said it again, the big “IF” word again. I really hope it happens soon.

I like you all to know that I just don’t make this up. I actually read a lot of articles. I have a list of my sources for you. That is why there are so many links in these posts.

Sources:

http://urgentcomm.com/public-safety-broadbandfirstnet/top-carriers-may-have-reservations-about-participating-firstnet-bid-

http://urgentcomm.com/blog/where-will-firstnet-be-next-911

http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/story/analysts-verizons-prospects-winning-firstnet-project-increasing/2015-04-16

http://www.rcrwireless.com/20151022/network-infrastructure/when-will-firstnet-we-see-a-large-scale-firstnet-deployment-tag20

http://www.mccmag.com/Features/FeaturesDetails/FID/588

http://urgentcomm.com/blog/dynamic-spectrum-arbitrage-key-sustainable-firstnet

http://urgentcomm.com/funding/rivada-networks-peter-tenerelli-explains-proposal-let-firstnet-generate-revenue-excess-capac

https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/community/blogs/DonD/entry/public_safety_network_firstnet_part_ii?lang=en

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

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Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Free the LTE Indoor Small Cells!

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Attention carriers, free the indoor LTE indoor small cells so that they can be deployed with iDAS! This is specifically for the enterprise and building coverage, since you already freed the small femto cells. You are the ones holding the industry back, not the other way around. You say you don’t want to pay for iDAS, but how can anyone else when you control the small cell? Small Cells can be deployed for home office, let’s free them up for the enterprise! Why? Let me tell you why.

The carriers say they don’t want to pay for indoor DAS but indoor small cells are part of that system, aren’t they? The carriers control the release of larger small cells, well any eNodeB for that matter. The VARs, (Value Added Resellers) want to sell and install these systems for large enterprise but they need to work through the carriers, maybe even to purchase the equipment from the carriers. If carriers want to save on these costs, then set up a system to approve the small cells and low power BTS for DAS systems so you can hand it off to someone who can sell it to the building or business owner. Again, I mean that the indoor small cells are so controlled by the carriers that they can’t be deployed by anyone else. It’s like a small cell hell!

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Who agrees with this? I listened to the RCR interview that Sean Kinney did with Jonathon Adelstein, the CEO of PCIA, and he appears to feel the same way. He thinks that the carriers should not be held responsible for a utility like broadband. He was actually talking about DAS, specifically iDAS, but he has to know that small cells are part of the new DAS systems, right? This guy of all people dog-tags_clearbackgrondshould understand this. Digital DAS, LTE DAS, get it? Small cells play a part. So it appears that PCIA is all in, but the carriers want the installs to be paid for by others and yet they won’t let go of the control! Well, which is it? It’s going to be hard for you to hand off the DAS without the indoor small cell. Get your head out of your butt and wake up! Make the change today! This is LTE; analog BDAs are not going to cut it anymore!

Let’s build a better model like the femto cell, for instance, homes and small offices are able to have anyone install the femto cell. Let me explain this model. You may have heard that T-Mobile is handing the CellSpot femto cell out to customers for free. This will help build a coverage model similar to what Comcast did with Xfinity Wi-Fi, hand out hotspots, (Cable modem or femto cell), and put your default ESSID on a Wi-Fi hotspot and then all of you customers can use it. It is a complete plug and play device, one that most carriers offer home users at some point, even with Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi calling may change this, but T-Mobile made it sexy and smart. They get expanded coverage for the price of a box and shipping.

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I believe that SpiderCloud is building this model for their small cells. They know that the carrier does not want to deploy indoor small cells everywhere, but the carriers have to build a better process. So why not do this for all businesses that want iDAS and indoor small cells? Let a contractor handle it! An approved contractor (of course) installing an approved unit.

As for carriers, I believe that T-Mobile is handing out the femto cells, but not anything larger. I think AT&T was going to set up something that would have them hand them, (sell them) to end users that wanted to install them. I didn’t hear of anything like this from Verizon. I know that the technology is catching up but I think that if they would allow the approved contractor to buy them, preferable from the OEM to save money unless the carrier would be able to get them really cheap, the contractor could do the rest. Building out the network for the carrier.

How should carriers do it? Build a process where the vendor gets certified by the OEM and the carrier. Then the carriers will vette the vendor for being a real business and take a look at their safetydog-tags_clearbackgrond programs. Then let the vendor sell to the enterprise and landlords! It’s that simple carriers, get out-of-the-way. Don’t worry about the vendor making you look bad because I know you can set up a feedback system so that the end customer can grade the vendor. Help them improve or boot them out. Build the process today.

Now, on the network and equipment side, you need to do several things. You need 1) Plug and Play, 2) an auto-config neighbor list, 3) power control, 4) get certified VARs to call the integration center, and 5) monitor PCMD data. Then you can let the VAR build your system and improve your coverage! Am I making any sense yet?

Readers, I know that many of you are blaming the OEM, right? But the reality is that the carriers have a firm grip on the small cell since it connects to the network.

Free the small cells to the vendors and let the network grow organically. Increase the pipe with little or no expense! Put the growth on auto pilot for heaven’s sake!

In case you wonder why carriers control deployments, look at the reasons below:

  • Approvals: The OEM has a lot of work with the carrier prior to even being allowed on the network. You see, to get on the carrier’s network you need to put all small cells through lab tests, minimum 3 months, to make sure they are certified and won’t take down a site, cluster or harm the network. Anyone who is working on the OEM side of small cells understands that this takes a lot of time, energy, money, and lab support. It doesn’t happen overnight, in fact, if it happens in 3 months you’re doing incredibly well.
  • Integration: Another thing is the current commissioning and integration of a cell onto the network. It usually needs to be planned. It is still not automated except small femto cells used for home and SOHO, (Small Office Home Office). The reason being is the core. You have several locations that the cell could connect with, and it may be different for each region. There is not an easy way for it to locate the core that it should be talking to. So they either preconfigure the cell or they do it on site. This seems to be tedious but in my opinion, the process should be automated.
  • Optimization: Finally, the ever so important neighbor list. This is the list of neighboring sites that the cell could interfere with and hand off. They want a clean handoff, no drops. Also, you don’t want self interference; you want a good cluster frequency plan. Don’t forget the power setting has to be just right. All key factors in the optimization phase of deployment. An optimized network is a happy network. Happy networks mean happy customers.

Maybe Wi-Fi and LTE-U calling will change this. With the license free options you can already get internet access and make a voice call over Wi-Fi. Comcast has a serious Wi-Fi network that people could use If only Comcast would create a better core for voice, VOIP, or VoWi-Fi, so that they can complete voice calls. It looks like they are working towards this from what I have read, but who knows. They recently announced the deal with Verizon so maybe they will move ahead with a real heterogeneous network.

Q with A&A – (Questions with actions and answers)

  • Q) Are small cells plug and play? A&A – They should be! Femto cells usually are, so all indoor cells should be, get on that today! Tell the OEMs that it is a requirement.
  • Q) Do I have to preconfigure the cell ahead of time? A&A – Get the OEM or a vendor to set up a system where it will be ready to be put on the network. It could be through your office or the OEM or let the VAR do it! One of them could load a configuration file so that when the installer gets it all they need to do is power up and connect to the internet or some type of backhaul.
  • Q) What if it interferes with a neighbor? A&A – Monitor the site when it goes in and catch the PCMD data from the units in the building to update the cell. This is work, but chances are you’re already doing this or you have a SON server doing this. This should be automated.
  • Q) What if power needs adjusted? A&A – See above, monitor, adjust, done.
  • Q) What if the carrier feels they need to install the small cell? Action – Don’t do it! The OEMs are already training people so just verify certifications. Get out-of-the-way!
  • Q) Who will configure the radio? A&A – Build basic configuration files. Could be the VAR or it could come preconfigured.
  • Q) Who will certify the installers? A&A – Let the OEMs manage the certifications! They are doing it today. Carriers need to verify that the VAR is certified to commission the small cell. Again, they need to be trained by the OEM. There should be a certification for installation and commissioning.
  • Q) Do carriers have to stock the small cells and spend the extra expense tracking and shipping? A&A – Don’t do any of it except create the process! Let a warehouse, distributor, OEM, or the VAR do it. If you want complete control then manage and warehouse everything, but the reality is that you should work a deal with a distributor, VAR, or OEM to stock them, prep them, and install them. All the VAR should need to do is call you to verify configuration and date of install. Let each group do what they are good at.
  • Q) What if it’s a large iDAS system? A&A – Don’t get involved unless it’s a high-profile venue! Let someone else do all the work. They should be buying all the equipment to make your coverage better.
  • Q) What will the cost to the carrier be? A&A – Let the VAR’s buy direct. If you do this right you should only pay someone, a PM, to manage the process. The business, building or venue owner will pay for the installation and the small cell just like you want them to do for DAS. You need to define the process and approve the vendors. Get out of your own way!
  • Q) Where will we find these VARs? A&A – They will come to you if you have a contact or group they can talk to! Seriously, this business will boom because a ton of companies want to do small cells and iDAS, just make someone available to them. Set up the process to get contractors approved. Get the contractor vetted and move on to the next one. Seriously, why make more work for yourself? If they screw it up, then deal with it or throw them out of your system.
  • Q) What if the enterprise or venue calls the carrier? A&A – refer them to the nearest 1 or 5 VARs. Build a database of VARs by region. Let the customer run the RFP or bidding process. Let the VAR fight for the work.
  • Q) How do we let the VAR know what band to install? A&A – Create a process where they can either access a website or let them call the regional team for information. I like the website because it is automated with little human interaction.

I would recommend having the carriers approve indoor small cells and then letting VARs deploy them as part of the iDAS and indoor small cell systems. For indoors, the carriers don’t want to pay for the installation unless they have a large payback but a VAR will do it for the cost of the installation. Hopefully the business will pay for.

The carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint need to go to the next level for indoor deployments. In this case I would recommend letting the VAR do the installation for enterprise and for business. Let the VAR work with the end-user for installation of the indoor small cell just like they would the iDAS systems. Honestly, what are they waiting for? They just need to approve it for their system then the PnP, plug and play, should do the rest. Make the investment in a decent SON system and then hand it off to the VARs! Let them sell it to the businesses and enterprises! Let them improve coverage at the request of the end use, not at the carrier’s cost. Get out of your own way! Don’t forget to automate the system!

I think that this is what the carriers want. They can control their end of it with the testing, the labs, and the approvals. They can then hand it off to the VAR to sell it and install it to improve coverage. Just like everyone wants to do with Wi-Fi. Comcast figured it out. T-Mobile is giving the femto cells to the end-user. Let’s create a system that works with this business model.

Don’t get me wrong, there will be a learning curve. If you don’t have a clean way to do this now then get busy! You should have done this already! Automate, integrate, and then grow!

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Carriers say they don’t want t pay for iDAS, what about indoor small cells. Here is an opportunity to let go.

If you are a vendor, a VAR, an installer, here is a golden opportunity for you to get in on a booming market. Coverage is the name of the game! Maybe LTE-U will take off, I know that Verizon has plans to deploy in 2016, or so they say, but wait and see.

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

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What Happened to Ernie?

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This is not a happy story, only read this if you are prepared.

How could a guy that is highly respected, an icon in the communications and broadcast tower industry have a fatal accident? How could this happen? I am trying to figure this out. I spoke with someone with some knowledge of the circumstances. Some of you may have heard of, or know Ernie Jones. He was highly respected inside of and even outside of the industry. He helped write the safety standards. He was a respected member of NATE. So how could this happen?

What do you think? Is it complacency? Was this someone who didn’t pay attention for a few minutes just to let this happen?. Simple mistakes can mean tragedy in this industry. Distractions can be the difference between life and death, literally.

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Let’s talk about tower elevators.  Years ago, there was really only one primary elevator manufacturer that designed, fabricated and supplied the conveying system for tall broadcast towers (1000’+ towers). That manufacturer is no longer in business and thus, no longer supports those systems. Regardless, these elevators need to be maintained and/ or repaired. Finding skilled technicians that can dog-tags_clearbackgrondprovide that service can be a challenge. Perhaps, on the fortunate side, tall towers are not installed as much anymore. The need for tall broadcast towers is far less than the shorter wireless structures. For this reason, the tall tower owners rely on the few most experienced tower companies to work on the tall towers and the elevators. If you are a cell tower climber then you may not have been over 500 feet, that’s OK, just understand that the number of experienced tall tower companies that service that industry are far less than in the wireless industry. It is a shallow resource pool.

Let’s talk about riding up the elevator. Broadcast tower elevators are designed, like any elevator, with a maximum lift capacity. Usually, they can hold two workers and a few small hand tools. Unfortunately, like a lot of construction equipment, not everyone uses them as the manufacturer intended. Additionally, like with other construction equipment, sometimes the safety devices are disabled or ignored.  However, most tower owners do their best to maintain the equipment and enforce compliance as best they can. All of that said, I have been told that, depending on how many workers go up, you may ride inside or on top. They could use the elevator to pull up rope or to haul up equipment when they can. This is common. As mentioned above, some  workers  may disable the safety switch on the elevator door. They do this for a number of reasons but mostly because the switches have problems, fail. We’re all careful, right? We know what we’re doing and yet something like this happened to one of the most experienced people in this industry. How did this happen?

Ernie was on the tower to complete a structural study of the tower. He was there with a crew working on the mapping the tower. The day of the accident the crew had completed the tower mapping and was released to drive back home out-of-state. I was told that Ernie had realized that he was missing some important information and needed to go up top to collect that information. He had the elevator, no climbing, right? He had taken the safety precautions of wearing a belt and riding the elevator, he had let the broadcast engineer know that he was heading back up, he had been careful to tie off, he had the Y lanyard/ fall arrest to observe 100% tie off. So what happened?

He didn’t observe 2 rules that are critical to working on any tower. 2 things that people get complacent over. Myself included. Do you know what they are? Read on.

Again, as I was told, he went up to complete one task. Apparently he did it. Then he got ready to come down. He got back In the elevator. He called down to the TV station engineer to let him know that he was coming down. Then he hit the down button.

The elevator ride down is generally 15 to 20 minutes. Not a quick ride. What Ernie did not realize was he was still tied off to a cross member outside of the elevator. A cross member outside of the elevator. The station engineer recalls hearing the elevator start down and then almost immediately stop. He listened for the elevator to start again but did not hear anything. After several minutes he tried to reach Ernie on the radio, nothing. He tried calling Ernie on his cell phone and still nothing. The engineer knew something was wrong, he didn’t know what. He knew that there was a problem!

The engineer continued to call Ernie on the radio and his cell phone. He could not hear anything. As he waited for the elevator to come down he got worried! He called 911 for help. The police and the fire departments showed up. They didn’t know what to do, according to the engineer. The engineer called for tower crews to see who could get out there immediately. He found a tower crew and they got there.

The elevator never came down, everyone is gathering at the base of the tower and no elevator, no word from Ernie, just silence. Can you imagine how they felt? The tower crew arrived. They knew it would be a 45 minute climb. They wanted to climb up immediately. The fire department stopped them because they thought there was potential hazards up there, obviously they didn’t know what dangers were there. This is common when people don’t understand what’s on a tower. More delays and still no word from Ernie. No elevator and time is wasting away.

No one can reach Ernie, no word, just arguing at the base of the tower between the crew and the fire department.

The engineer explained that the crew needs to go up ASAP. He explained that there aren’t hazards that the climbers couldn’t deal with. Finally the fire department concedes. The tower crew heads up.

They climb all the way up, 40 minutes or so. What they found is not a pretty sight. They find Ernie, pinned to the top of the elevator! He had the weight of the elevator pinning him to the roof of the elevator because his lanyard is still connected to the outside cross member. His lanyard was holding up the weight of the elevator with Ernie pinned to the ceiling of the elevator. All the pressure of the downward elevator was forcing his body to the ceiling.

The pressure of the lanyard pinning him to the ceiling caused asphyxiation. Apparently he could not breathe! He was gone by the time the crew arrived. There was nothing they could do to save him. There is only the job of freeing his body and getting him down to have the rescue teams see what they can do. This is something that will stay with that crew forever.

No one can understand the pain the crew felt when they saw this! It is a memory that will haunt them forever.

What happened? The speculation? You see, with the changes in broadcast recently, with the upcoming 600MHz auction, there has been a lot of work due to the changes that will happen in broadcast. Ernie has been doing as much as he could since he was uniquely qualified. You see, Ernie is in demand right now. He was great at what he did and he was called by many broadcast tower owners for help. He tried to make them all happy. He tried to do as much as he could. He tried to get as much work in as he could. He was just shy of 65 years old.

So what happened on the tower? This is all speculation from my source. He was not paying attention and he did not take a climbing buddy up with him. These are 2 common mistakes in the industry no matter who you are. These are 2 things that mean the difference between going home safely at night or not. Ernie should have had a buddy with him in case he missed something, and he did miss something. He never unclipped from the cross member outside the elevator, so when he hit the down button it pulled him up to the top of the elevator. Very tight! Pinning him to the roof of the elevator with the safety harness squeezing him. The lanyard was connected several feet up forcing the harness to become very tight. The weight of the elevator pulling down on the lanyard and harness. Ernie was pinned to the roof, unable to breathe. It looked like he was able to hit the kill switch with his foot. After he hit the kill switch they think the elevator dropped a bit more and there was no way he could hit the up switch, so he apparently died of asphyxiation. This is a very sad day in the industry. You don’t realize the mistake until it’s too late.

This could happen to anybody, please, make sure that it doesn’t happen to you. Be smart, pay attention, and make sure that you have someone with you on the tower that can see you or provide immediate assistance if you get into trouble.  Your life depends upon it!

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Pay attention to be smart and be safe!

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The LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition! 
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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

 

 

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Chasing Dreams: The Flum Family

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I was told about a young guy that is trying to be a rapper. Common story, right? Well, this guy, Kevin Flum, is 20 and he is the cousin of a climber, Trevor Flum, who died last year when he was hit by a drowsy driver while working in Oklahoma City. Trevor was 36 and his partner, Joshua Oglesby, 22, when they both died in the accident. I thought it would be a good idea if we could support Trevor’s cousin so that we can honor a fallen climber.

Remember that climbers are on the road a lot, we lost around 7 climbers over the last few years to car crashes. They aren’t recognized as a tower fatality because it didn’t happen on a tower, but the industry suffers a loss all the same!

I never met Trevor but from what I am told, was a climber that worked hard to become better and better as a climber. For those of dog-tags_clearbackgrondyou in the business you know that you must be in good physical and mental shape. Sadly, due to circumstances beyond his control, his life ended, but his legacy didn’t.

You see, I was told that the work ethic that Trevor displayed left an impression on his cousin, Kevin Flum. After the accident, Kevin had a rude awakening. Two things became clear to Kevin. Work hard at your dream because life is short! This inspired Kevin to chase a dream, something that he really wants to do. While it’s not everyone’s dream, it is his dream. He wants to be a rapper. Here is an opportunity. Why don’t we help?

He actually has a shot at his dream. He has been working towards a goal of performing in front of a mass audience for over 6 years. Now he has a real shot. On New Years Eve there is a concert in Dallas called “Lights All Night” where a contest can decide if he performs or not. He is doing very well in the running so far, topping out around #3 but he needs help to win. If he wins, then it is up to him to make or break his career. I think we should help him out! Let’s show him that we support him and how much we appreciate a member of the tower family. He lost a cousin, we lost a fellow climber, let’s help Kevin. It’s a click and a vote, that’s all!

Hey, I am not a big fan of rap music, but I will vote and support this kid. I would hope he remembers to support the tower community when he hits it big!

He is young, he is an artist, and he is growing in popularity. I think we could all help him in this quest, for his cousin’s sake! Let’s show Trevor’s family that we support his cousin, Kevin, in this quest. We can bring a smile to their faces in some way. Whether you like rap or not, let’s vote for him to do this! Let’s make this happen for him. Let’s click on the link below and show the support of the wireless deployment community.

https://wavo.me/lights-all-night/lan2015-dj-invitational/kevin_flum_lights_all_night_2015_mix_vote_in_description__15264886194110000

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

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Wireless Deployment Handbook for LTE Small Cells and DAS

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I get asked questions about small cell deployments all the time. The first question is “how can I do the deployments?” and the second question is, “how can we deploy small cells and DAS systems efficiently for less money?” Most people don’t know the end to end process of what it takes to deploy. Once you learn the process you can start to dissect it to build a better process.

All the questions add up. What are the differences between indoors and outdoors? What are all the steps? Why is it so expensive? Do you still need to optimize? Do you need to do e911 with LTE small cells? What can be done to make it more efficient?

Introducing the “Wireless Deployment Handbook for LTE Small Cells and DAS”. Written for the deployment teams.

A document to help the deployment teams understand the end to end process. The handoffs are very important. Covering deployments to make them easy to understand.  This will be a living document to be updated as the industry changes, (the great thing about eBooks is that you can update it and send the updates out to the people who bought it). See all the steps that cover end to end deployment. Look at the planning and how it is laid out. This will help the teams that are planning to go from macro deployments to small cells. Look at this as a tool for learning all the steps and how to plan for your part. Why not learn from my mistakes?

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For me, this has been a learning process over the past 3 years. The original thought is that it would be a “cell site” but smaller, which it is, but I learned quickly that the model is cost prohibitive. The backhaul is still an issue The process has evolved and I realize now that the models have to be cost-effective to sell. So I thought I would record what I have learned by putting together a book that would outline the end to end deployment process.

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A partial table of contents so you can see what’s covered!

Naming Overview (Abbreviations and Acronyms)

A Quick Note on Deployments

What is a Heterogeneous Network?

What is a Small Cell?

Why Install Small Cells?

What is CRAN?

Why Install CRAN?

CRAN Deployment Notes

What is DAS?

Why Install DAS?

iDAS

oDAS

DAS or Small Cells?

Will DAS and Small Cells Work Together?

What is a Mini Macro?

Why Install Mini Macro Cells?

Unlicensed Bands

How Does Wi-Fi Fit In?

What is LTE-U?

Carrier Aggregation

Carrier Aggregation with Wi-Fi, LTE-U, and LTE

Voice

Connections – Backhaul and Fronthaul

Backhaul and Fronthaul Options

Backhaul Planning

CRAN and Fronthaul and oDAS

What is involved in deployment?

Project Management

RF Design

Site Acquisition

Site Survey

Site Design

Network design

Installation

Commissioning

Integration

Optimization

Inspections

Value in Partnerships

Deployment Evolution

Installation Skills for Small Cell, DAS, and CRAN

Fiber Connections

Copper Connections

RF Connections

Mounting the Small Cell or CRAN RRH

Pole Mounting

Strand Mounting Notes

Stealth Mounting Notes

Grounding

Overcoming Challenges: Problems and Planning

RF Coverage versus Offloading

Permitting and Zoning Challenges

Backhaul and Fronthaul Challenges

Power

Mounting Assets

PIM Testing

Tiger Teams

Installation

Planning Overview

Don’t you think it’s about time that the end to end deployment is laid out so that field workers get a good understanding of wireless deployment of small cells and DAS for the carriers? I do, so I took a few months to put together this deployment handbook to give a view of the end to end deployment steps for LTE small cells,dog-tags_clearbackgrond DAS and CRAN. Why? Because this will help you make your part of the process easier. Helping you plan and build a price model. You may not be the lowest bidder, but you will be the smartest bidder. Plan ahead for not only the pricing but also the work flow. Handoffs were a problem in the past since the teams didn’t know what was next. When the teams are all on the same page then the process becomes more efficient. Most people think it’s just the installation, but there’s so much more when you look at it end to end

“Plan ahead” is more than a saying, its good business. LTE small cell and DAS can be confusing. This book will help you understand, in layman terms, what is happening out there. The learning process can be costly, so why not get an edge? Knowledge is power and having a reference really helps.

Be Smart, be safe, and pay attention! 

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Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

 

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

TFF: Don’t blame, don’t judge, just help!

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There is the reality that tower climbers die on the job. Like it or not, this is part of the job. There are many reasons, stupidity, faulty equipment, and freak accidents. It happens. The Tower Family Foundation, (TFF), is there. They are the group started by NATE, read on to learn more.

These accidents leave a hole in the hearts of all those involved. The industry is affected by these happenings, it extends way beyond the family to all tower workers across the industry. It saddens the tower community. It breaks our hearts to hear about this!

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To be clear, the TFF will not judge, they just want to help the family. They just want to make sure that the family gets help as soon as possible. They are committed to supporting the families in this time of crisis. Also, I don’t have names of who they have helped for privacy reasons.

The Tower Family Foundation. Then there is the TFF, www.towerfamilyfoundation.org. The TFF was created by NATE, the National Association of Tower Erectors. The TFF has the full support of all of the members of NATE, they have raised close to dog-tags_clearbackgrond$1M for this cause and they have already given out over $60,000 to help families in need. They have a list of donors on their website, so make sure you go there and contribute what you can. To see who they have as donors go to http://towerfamilyfoundation.org/2015/10/tower-family-foundation-highlights-founding-donors-at-ctias-super-mobility-week-conference/ to see who is supporting them. Ben Little talked about the last fundraiser here.

I talked to Ben Little and Jim Tracy of the TFF. These 2 guys are so committed to raising money and to make sure that the families get taken care of within 7 days of an accident. Like I said, they don’t care what happened or whose fault it was, none of that matters, what’s done is done. They just want to make sure that the family gets the financial support they need within 7 days of an accident. They do all that they can to find out who the family is, usually with the help of the employer, and send them a check as soon as possible. They don’t ask questions, they don’t look for a thank you, they just want to help the family. No judgment.

These guys so all they can for the TFF with no pay, they don’t take a dime for any of the time they work on the TFF fundraisers or spending time with people like me, they don’t take a dime, they just commit to serving the greater cause of helping fallen climbers. It doesn’t matter if the climber or their company is a member of NATE, they work hard to provide support to the family within 7 days, no longer if at all possible. They want to make sure the families understand that there is someone there to provide a hand.

So when I talked to Ben he gets so emotional about this subject. He told me the story about how an accident happened near the holidays and they reached out to the employer to get information about the person so that they could have a check to the family before Christmas. They worked hard to ensure it was in their hands on Christmas Eve so that the family would not worry about finances on Christmas day. This got him all choked up just talking about it. He is seriously committed to make sure that the foundation serves one purpose, to support the families of the fallen without judgment.

They have a very organized fundraising system. So far they have raised close to $1M for the sole purpose of supporting climbers’ families. They are constantly looking for ways to raise money giving all that they can and raising money on fundraisers. They make sure that all the money goes to the families by donating their time to the foundation. That means that there is no overhead going into anyone’s pockets. They work hard and donate their time for this cause. They are always looking for ways to improve. They support the families financially and they are starting a scholarship program to make sure that the kids have all the opportunities they deserve!

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It’s here, the Wireless Deployment Handbook!

The LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition! 
Cover V7 LTE

official logo

 

Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

 

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Prove You’re Certified!

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Hey, do you know if your certifications are up to date? You know, your certifications, your credentials, your licenses, your hall-pass! What about all the field guys? Which credentials? Well, for most of you, it may be tower training and rescue certification. It may be OSHA or RF Safety certifications. It may be your CCNT qualifications. Maybe you have router, MPLS, OEM, or any other certification that you may need to do your job. Maybe, some of us want to get certified so that we learn new skills. New skills open up new doors in our career, right? It would be nice to have proof that you completed the class. Your company is required to keep proof of that training available at all times for customers and compliance agencies, such as OSHA.

“Credentialing – refers to the granting of a diploma or other certification in recognition that an individual has completed a defined body of work that is required for employment in certain occupations or professions.”

“Certification – is used as a synonym for credentialing or to refer to a program that identifies individuals who have gained advanced skills within a profession”

So credentialing becomes necessary for your job. Customers and/or your company may require proof of certain levels of training and experience, or your next employer may require proof of all those things listed on your resume. All of these are reasons to get credentialed. Let’s look at your driver’s license. This is something that most of you have and keep up to date, why? So you can travel freely. It is most likely the most basic credential you have. You will need to show this to companies so that you can drive the truck, get to work, or just for identification. To climb, you need a cert that says you can climb safely. To work on routers you may need to be certified so that the customer believes that you won’t take the network down or wreck the code in the router. You need certifications to do your job in many areas.

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Do you think that you just need to take the class and then it’s done? No, you need to keep the documented credentials so that you have proof. You need to keep them up to date because they often expire; even when the document doesn’t expire your Customer will enforce re-certification every 2-3 years. If you need to keep it up to date, you need to get recertified and you need to keep proof of your most current re-credentialing.

How many of you keep that old binder in the truck only to pull it out when the customer asks? How many of you know how many copies are expired? Most of you don’t care until someone calls you and says update this ASAP.

I was talking to a close friend of mine, Matt, he is managing the safety program for the climbers in his company and a customer stopped by the office and asked for all of the safety certifications. He had them all in one place, not the paper copies but the scanned copies in a shared directory at the office. He spent a few minutes calling them up and the customer’s safety person was so happy. She was so impressed that he had all the certs, all the dates, and could show them to her with no questions asked. He didn’t make excuses, he showed her the certs and the customer left happy and knowing that this is a trustworthy company. Luckily he was at the office on the network able to access the shared directory.

This isn’t the case at the site. You may rely on the binder, if you can find it and it’s up to date. You may have to access the company network to get the files. You may have to call the office and ask them to email it to the Customer. Even if you keep track of all of your company’s credentials at the office it is hard to present them at the site. It could be a showstopper. What if someone didn’t update the dog-tags_clearbackgrondbinder and they are expired. What if one is missing and the climber is not ‘compliant’ to climb, then what? Someone in the office needs to support you by emailing them out to the customer. Keep your credentials up to date and readily available. Do you see the problem? Updating at the office is easy, getting them quickly retrievable in the field is hard. Most of this should be done up front. Even customers don’t keep up with it until they do an audit at the contractor’s site. Then certifications matter because if you don’t have the right credentials, then the job is delayed or you’re kicked off the site until you show proof! That’s a day of lost wages, delay in the project, possibly one more night out-of-town.

Do you see the pain point? Credentials need to be up to date and available all the time, everywhere, especially where Safety issues are concerned.

Believe it or not I found a way around this, a way that someone can use an app on a smartphone to see all of your credentials in one shot, and it’s pretty cool! I found a website that you can load up your credentials where they can be available to anyone with a QR code reader on their smartphone. It’s really easy to use. First off, a QR reader reads those codes you see.

What is a QR? Well, it is explained here, but it’s a generic box that you see around for people to scan with their smartphones to get more information on a product or service. QR stands for Quick Response code.  It was originally used in the auto industry in Japan to track parts and pieces. Then people realized that with smart phones anyone could get any information quickly and easily by just scanning a code. How cool is that?

They look like this and if you scan this code you will see my information. It’s that easy. http://app.qredentials.com/Credential/Index/39

All you need to do is download a QR code reader, which I have links, Droid or iTunes that you can read the code above. If you download

http://app.qredentials.com/Credential/Index/39

the app, then scan the box and you will see my old certifications. So, if you own a tower service company, work for a business demanding proof of credentials, or if you manage a safety program anywhere, then this is going to make your life easier.

What is this place where you can upload your certifications for customers to see? The company is QREDENTIALS! The site is https://www.qredentials.com/home-page.html. Create an account and then upload your information so that anyone with a QR reader can quickly review all of your credentials. No, it’s not free, but it is currently in BETA, (BETA is only $45), but it’s pretty cool and there are more pricing options. I just did the beta for unlimited access. It is expected to be in full, release mode by January 2016. It’s simple to use and really simple for the customer to use. Here are my certifications on the web. Better yet, scan THIS QR-Code on your smartphone and you will see my certs! I think that it’s really cool. Even though I am no longer required to maintain current credentials, it’s fun to have them available to add to my socialization and it was a blast digging out all my years of credentials for uploading!

So why not have someone in the office track the certifications and have the field guy keep this code on his phone as a picture? Problem solved, simple! We all know that the field people always have their phones, right? This should streamline the work. All the field guy needs is to have the QR-Code either on a sticker, business card, paper or on the smartphone. They may not have their binders up to date. They may change trucks. They may have destroyed their binders, “accidentally”, of course.

Here is a way to clean all of that up. Have the field guys do the field work and have the safety person manage the certifications and everyone is happy! No more nagging the field guys to update their binders, am I right? It looks so much easier. Hey, you tell me, does this make sense?

https://www.qredentials.com/home-page.html

https://www.qredentials.com/about-us.html

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Released! 

The Wireless Deployment Handbook!

The LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition! 
Cover V7 LTE

 

 

 

official logo

 

Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

When a Climber Falls, Who Cries?

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When a climber falls, who hears the cries? First the coworkers, the people on the scene who work with this person every day, then the foreman or boss who has to inform the family. Then the family. While the company suffers, it does not compare to the family’s pain and loss. The family is left with the loss of a loved one. The family is going to grieve for their loss. The family is left with more than the loss of a loved one, the grief of injury or death. They are also dealing with the financial devastation.

There is help out there for these families that comes from donations from within the industry. Let us never forget the fallen. One more is too many, but it happens. So who will help? The Hubble Foundation.

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This group is there to help climbers that have accidents on the tower. There may be lawsuits, insurance delays, no income, and so dog-tags_clearbackgrondmuch finger-pointing to go around. The Hubble Foundation works hard to find out who needs the help and how to reach them. Specifically Dr. Bridgette Hester. She lost her husband, Jonce Hubble, when a tower came down after a truck backed into a guy while he was trying to come down. Now he is dead, and she didn’t have anyone outside of friends and family to support her.

You see, there is an ugly truth that tower climbers die on the job. Many due to poor training, some due to stupidity, and others in freak accidents. They die on the tower and in cars. We lost 7 this year, 2015, in-car accidents, so far. We lost more in tower related accidents. So many more have been hurt and will never climb again. Who helps these people? Read on

The Hubble Foundation! Do you know about the Hubble Foundation? It is named after Jonce Hubble who died when a tower collapsed and he was on it. He was coming down at the end of the day when a crane truck backed into a guy wire. This caused the wire to break and the tower collapse with Jonce Hubble and Barry Sloan trying to get down. They did not fall, the tower collapsed on top of them. This day changed Dr Bridgette Hester’s life forever. It motivated her to create the Hubble Foundation, www.hubblefoundation.org, and she has been helping tower climbers out ever since. From offering them meals, to providing financial support and scholarship money for their families after a tower worker died, she has been the working endlessly to help this part of the industry get over the horrible truth that people die in this job, usually for a little money. Most stay with it because they love it. Some die doing it. All I ask, if you could, go to www.hubblefoundation.org and give what you can. I interviewed Dr Hester which can be found here.

Quick facts:

  • Founded in 2012
  • IRS 501c3 organization
  • Conduct academic research to improve safety
  • Advocate safety with OSHA, FCC, and other organizations
  • Assist workers and their families for work related accidents.
  • Raised close to $200K since 2012
  • Provided Christmas donation for 37 children of injured and fallen climbers in 2014
  • The video is found here.

The Hubble Foundation has many supporters and is well-known inside the tower industry. Check out the newsletter, 2015 2nd Quarter newsletter, and it shows you what they are up to. They keep a good record of who they have helped and Dr. Hester is very approachable and easy to talk to. I am proud to say she is also a good friend who wrote a book about the accident and what she experienced. It is called “Godwink: On the Wings of Butterflies” and I only recommend reading it if you have a strong will. The first chapter will make you realize what the family goes through when they get “the call” and let me tell you something, my wife is happy she never had to go through that. My wife said, after starting to read the book that she had no idea how dangerous the job really was.

I have a great deal of respect for Dr Hester for all that she has done for this industry. She has done so much by herself that others would seem impossible. It really is amazing how far she got it with the help of the working class people in this industry building it up to provide the Hubble Foundation with the means to support so many family with financial aid, scholarships, and continued support throughout the years. She has been instrumental in helping these families rebuild.

The Hubble Foundation relies on donations from groups, like the Wireless Associations from Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, and California as well as people like you and me. Anyone who can help out does. I have given, so should anyone in this industry. She also relies on companies, like Rope + Rescue, to donate 1% of 17 specific items sold. She relies on individual donations as much as groups. Per Dr Hester”We have yet to have a LARGE telecom company step up and support what we do.  We have been grassroots since we started and our base following are the climbers themselves, the smaller companies, the families of the fallen, and several wireless associations (whom we adore), that have been with us from the beginning.”

Where the Hubble Foundation could use help is to respond quickly to these emergencies. If you could let all the coworkers know that they can reach out to Hubble for help so that the response time improves, that would be better for all.

Pay attention to be smart and be safe!

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It’s here, the Wireless Deployment Handbook!

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official logoGive to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

 

Wade4Wireless BlogCast

Happy Halloween To Sprint Workers!

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What a scare the Sprint employees got! They found out that after working so hard for this company that has been in turmoil for years that they will probably get laid off in January with a lesser severance than expected. Hey, in all honesty it’s better than most tower workers get when they are laid off, they’re lucky to get a ride home! Tower workers usually get nothing, a big empty goose egg! When I was laid off and I got stiffed on expense money, so I left in the hole!

Here’s the rub, Sprint is setting a precedent by announcing that they will be reducing the severance pay for employees that they are going to lay off in January, that’s right, all those hard-working Sprint people are getting screwed over. Hey, I know a few people that work for Sprint and they put in long hours with little gratitude from the dog-tags_clearbackgrondhigher-ups. At least the ones I know work really hard, they get paid for 40 hours when they really work 60 or more hours, yes, most of them are salary. Sprint made the announcement that when they lay off the people that (worked 60 hours a week for 40 hours pay) were not only going to be let go, but the severance package they expected is going to get knocked down to a week’s pay for each year worked there. That still isn’t bad but it’s half of what they were going to get. Can you believe it? It amazes me that now the solution is to screw the laid off workers out of a decent severance. Click here to read the story. They will get a reduced severance and a good kick in the ass as they are pushed out of the door because previous management could not control spending.

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Hey, this Sprint layoff news may not be all bad, remember that Sprint will probably be very shorthanded. So if you are a contractor, I would say it is a good thing. They will need support and they probably want to hire contractors. They may pay a higher hourly rate but they will be able to hire and fire easily and not more benefits. So this is an opportunity for those of you that have a service that Sprint may need, like PM, RF Engineer, or network engineer.

I also see them needing RAN work done when they eventually expand, right? I don’t think that Mr Claure will be going up a tower anytime soon, do you? If he does, I hope I am there to race him to the top, with 100% tie off of course.

What worries me now is that this sets a precedent for all the companies in the future to bully their employees when they downsize. Hey, losing your job sucks, but having them tell you they didn’t appreciate having you there hurts even more! I guess the new CFO, Tarek Robbiati has a better severance planned for when he leaves. Let’s blame him and Marcelo Claure, just because they are the leaders, makes it easy to see who made the decisions here, right? Money first, people last, and the system falls somewhere in between.

Hey, Sprint isn’t all bad. Maybe it’s time for a history lesson. What a great company to work for if you are an executive. Let’s look at the former CEO Dan Hesse who got $38M when he left to go work on the board. How does that grab you? Or we could look at the current CEO who is getting over $20M in total compensation. Is it any wonder they have financial problems, but are they looking at the real problems? Let’s go back to 2007 when Gary D Forsee got $54M for leaving Sprint! Before that there was William Esray who got $5.8M to leave Sprint, and he was asked to resign! Well, that’s fair!

My hope here is that Softbank can turn Sprint around. The shareholders are happy to see Sprint cut over $2B out of the budget, way to go! I just thought that laying the people off was enough, I didn’t think that cutting the severance was good PR, but as long as the shareholders are happy, who cares, right? Let’s hope that Sprint can stay out of bankruptcy! I would hate to see that happen for so many reasons!

For all of you Sprint employees about to lose your jobs, my heart goes out to all of you. Its tough being out of work, there is never a good time. There is never enough money in savings. I pray that all of you can find work very soon. I wish you would have a reasonable severance package, so sorry.

For all of you employees at other carriers, look out. The way I see it, Sprint is setting a precedent. Executive pay is first, then profits, then the system, and then maybe the employees. I have to tell you, it seems that the other carriers are taking care of their employees, but then again, they are growing.

By the way, Verizon is laying people off so it’s not just Sprint. Even though they see growth

I will continue to root for Sprint as a carrier to grow and improve. If they see growth maybe they will hire again. Maybe they will be innovative with the densification project. I guess we shall see.

Pay attention to be smart and be safe!

Newsletter Sign up and feedback.

It’s here, the Wireless Deployment Handbook!

The LTE Small Cells, CRAN, and DAS edition! 
Cover V7 LTE

official logo

 

Give to the Hubble Foundation because if you don’t help these families, who will? Who supports Hubble? The wireless workers and the tower climbers, that’s who! With no support from the carriers or NATE, so it’s up to you! What if it were you? Would you want help? Who would help you if you were hurt? Who would help your family, your spouse, your children if something happened to you? Do you see the people who are hurt?

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