Seattle News Station Investigates Tower Deaths;
State Vows to Tighten Rules
After two cell tower workers fell to their deaths in Washington state earlier this year, KING 5, a television news station in Seattle, launched an investigation into the pressures that tower workers face and deficiencies in the state's safety regulations. A candid interview with the state's top safety official revealed plans to increase regulation of the industry.

These rules are not a violation of Church and State, however. MORE

Seybold:  Community Resistance to Blame for Absence of Wireless During Fires
As a resident of Santa Barbara, a wireless data expert recently saw the irony of community resistance to cell tower siting up close and personal. In a commentary published in the Santa Barbara-Goleta Noozhawk, Andrew Seybold wrote about November's "Tea" fires that ravaged Southern California, destroying homes in Montecito and Santa Barbara, and the resulting chaotic mass evacuations of his fellow residents and him. MORE

DAS System Boosts Cellular Coverage on Vegas Strip
ExteNet Systems has deployed a distributed antenna system (DAS) network in Las Vegas strip covering 15 square miles, as part of the cellular network of MetroPCS. MORE

Cell Tower Improvements Key to Verizon 3G Technology Network in Indiana
In order to enable more customers to browse the Internet, download music and send multimedia messages, Verizon Wireless installed its most advanced EV-DO Rev. A (Evolution-Data-Optimized, Revision A) hardware and software on the remaining 106 cell sites needing upgrading across Indiana, as well as activating an additional 55 EV-DO cell sites in the state. Since 2005, Verizon Wireless has invested more than $89 million building out its advanced network across Indiana, which now covers 31,186 square miles of the state and 95.6 percent of the population.