#natesafety

In May I surpassed my second year in the tower industry. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in construction science and management and had ten-plus years of construction work experience. During my final year of college, I completed an internship with Hayden Tower Service and signed on with them full-time as a Project Manager after graduation.

From the beginning, I was informed about NATE and its purpose. Hayden is a NATE founding member, so I have heard stories of NATE’s origin and how it has developed since then. I was fortunate to become a member of the Member Services Committee about a year ago and attended the 2022 NATE Summer Conference in Austin, Texas, and NATE UNITE 2023 in Orlando, Florida, this past winter.

Even with my short time in the industry, I have been welcomed by everyone. I look forward to contributing to NATE’s development over the coming years and I am excited to be a part of the growing NATE community.

I wanted to take the opportunity to share some of the current membership benefits. These benefits include the following:

Member involvement and networking

Continuing education opportunities

Access to the NATE membership listing

Free members-only access to NATE safety materials (Digital)

Free NATE safety resources (Digital)

Free online resources

Communication

Member discounts on advertising, NATE UNITE, and much more

NATE EXCHANGE

NATE PERKS

STAR Initiative

Legislative & regulatory representation

U.S. DOT – Federal motor carrier safety administration interpretation letter on utility service vehicles

Industry relations

Legal resources

Regulation & standards

Membership plaque and certificate

NATE Wireless Industry Network (WIN) program

NATE employee benefits hub powered by Gallagher

ProSys CertTrac by OneVizion

NATE Mentorship Program

NATE retirement benefits

TelecomJobs Connect

We are the Member Services Committee. Please do not hesitate to send suggestions or ideas to any of our committee members or the NATE Administrative Staff.

Chairman's Corner - 2023 Tower Times Volume 3

As we emerge from our NATE Member Congressional Fly-In Event in D.C. and other prominent industry conferences this past spring, it is clear that there is a change in the air. The primary conversations evolve around work slowdown, bankruptcies of major vendors, matrix pricing cuts, and additional flow down of duties and responsibilities to the contractors who perform the work. We have inflation at 15%, compared to the Carter Administration in the mid to late 1970's which peaked at 14.6%, and we have interest rates rising at a pace only surpassed during the Carter years.

This is a time when we can look at the landscape as a glass half full or half empty; with every downturn in the economy or event in our history, we can look to people that take these opportunities to either hang their heads or innovate and improve themselves.

As contractors, engineers, suppliers, and manufacturers in the telecom industry we know one thing, people will always need to communicate, and we are the people that enable the connectivity to make that a reality.

As NATE member companies, we have all been riding a hectic pace for over 10 years of increasing build plans as we rolled from 3G to LTE to 4G and now into 5G. We have seen a tremendous boom in the macro tower business and a constant uptick in small cell and fiber deployments. There has been a lot to do.

The upside is that these installations need to be maintained and continually expanded. The work that was done 10 years ago by the carrier’s field technicians is now done by NATE member companies. The radio heads are now mounted on light fixtures, telephone poles, and towers. This is a time when companies that invest or have invested in technical training will lead the next generation, building and maintaining our communication infrastructure.

Over the last several years, there has been an increasing rate of access to cheap capital, and many larger companies acquired into the telecom space assuming the bubble would never burst. Some companies agreed to subpar pricing for the opportunity to tie up large volumes of work and now with increased inflation and interest rates, that pricing no longer looks quite as good as it did 18 months ago. As the owner of a contractor business for over 30 years, my advice is to know your costs and understand what it takes to operate your business profitably.

During the recent round of NATE C-Suite meeting visits with some of the industry’s major customers (carriers and vertical real estate/tower owners), we had some great dialogue discussing the pricing and, although it will take some time to get major change, we are delivering a compelling and worthy message. NATE UNITE 2024 in Memphis will also have several educational sessions on business management topics that will provide immense value and I look forward to seeing you there.

Chairmans Corner

2023 Tower Times Magazine - Volume 1

The NATE Executive Committee just completed two weeks of meetings across the nation. Week one meetings were held with various committees and congressional staff while week two included meetings with large industry stakeholders such as carriers and tower owners. The theme of these discussions was consistent.

The Workforce and the Wireless Industry

People got paid to stay home for a year and guess what? They like it! So many jobs remain unfilled as perhaps society got a bit spoiled. Carry that thought over to what we do and ask the question, “how many workers commute hundreds of feet vertically to their job?” Then upon completing the commute, the work skills involved include rigging, steel installation and modifications, electrical, fiber, and RF troubleshooting and installation.

When sharing this story in the halls of Congress, everyone we met was amazed as they had never considered what it takes to keep the nation’s wireless infrastructure online; a wireless infrastructure that is taken for granted, as common as 60hz electricity.

What Are We Doing About It?

We are spreading the word and in doing that we made a movie, Vertical Freedom, to bring to light the rewards of making the climb, which is now available for rent or purchase. We also have a Workforce Development Committee and have several programs in place with vocational colleges across the nation.

These programs offer formalized training and certification where upon graduation from the program the student is ready to go to work. We continue to work with our military partners like Warriors4Wireless to help place our military veterans into the workforce.

Visits to Tower Sites

NATE and our Washington D.C. partners Guidepost Strategies accomplished nine tower site visits in the past few months. Congressional leaders, their staff, and local leaders including college deans and town mayors witnessed the work that is going on at these tower sites and what it takes to build and maintain them firsthand.

Federal Communications Commission

If you think about it, the commodity that serves as the backbone of our industry is spectrum (frequencies in an infinite amount). New technology allows a new band of frequency to open, older bands get repurposed, or bands get modified for more efficient use. Regardless of what happens, we suit up and go to work!

Additionally, we are partners with the FCC as a function of the NATE-OSHA-FCC Partnership whereby we all share one common goal: A safer workplace.

I would be remiss if I did not mention FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has served as an advocate for the tower technician, recognizing the hard work and safety aspects of our industry. His voice alone has paved the way for more invitations inside the D.C. Beltway.

In competition with many others seeking a stable workforce, our challenges are most unique, and NATE is pulling every lever possible to attract and retain workers for our industry. ●