As Michelle Kang and Scott Stekr reflect on the highlights of 2024 in their lives and the telecommunications industry, they also share insights into what to anticipate in 2025 for both the industry and our podcast, Telecommunications Industry Therapy. Stay tuned for exciting developments ahead!

Sam McGuire, the CEO of Fieldsync joins our podcast to discuss the current state of drones in the telecommunications industry today. He also provides insight into the history of how drones have been used in this space, what has been learned, and current use cases. 

In the revised version of ANSI/ASSP A10.48 that was released in 2023, one of the notable changes was the institution of construction plans replacing what was formerly referred to as “rigging plans”. What were the reasons behind this change, and how does a contractor navigate the various classes of construction plans and what is required? In this podcast, we are joined by Dale Shumaker and Brian Bicknese, to answer these questions and discuss common misconceptions they have seen regarding construction plans. 

Marty Zimmerman, North America CTO for Outdoor Wireless Networks at Commscope, provides an overview of passive intermodulation and its impacts in the telecommunications wireless industry. During this session, Marty also describes current installation challenges and things that exacerbate PIM issues, while at the same time providing some valuable guidance on common solutions and best practices that can be used to mitigate PIM. 

Hot topic buzzing through the telecommunication industry , Open Radio Access Network / Open RAN with Paul Challoner VP of Network Products at Ericsson.  On the cusp of the wireless revolution, learn the driving benefits the industry can look forward to with Open RAN.  

Chris Carpenter, Field Director for SPX Aids to Navigation  joins us to discuss a TIF White Paper published earlier this year that he co- authored on US Regulatory Compliance and Air Navigation Safety which focuses on understanding and implementing the many rules and procedures concerning air navigation safety as it relates to Antenna Structures is a multifarious endeavor. https://tifonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/US-Regulatory-Compliance-and-Air-Navigation-Safety-Final-Draft-Ed.1.2-2023.06.30.pdf

Randy Removchik, Quality Assurance Engineer from Crown Castle discusses recent updates to the Grounding section of ANSI/TIA-222-I.  Randy provides us with information regarding what tower grounding is and is not intended to accomplish on a tower site.  

What is the Telecommunications Industry Association, TIA all about? Dave Stehlin, CEO of TIA, joins our show to talk about who TIA is as an organization and current initiatives they are focused on. He also discusses the upcoming Broadband Nation Expo in Washington, DC. 

Justin Kline, Author of the TIF White Paper "Stability and Performance Criteria for Foundations", joins the show to talk about performance-based design, how it has historically been used and how it can be applied to telecommunication tower foundations in certain situations for the benefit of many stakeholders.

What does the term 'reliability' mean as it relates to Telecommunications infrastructure, how does the reliability of telecommunications structures differ from common building structures, and why is it important that the authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ) understand this? Chris Ply, Author of the TIF White Paper "Reliability of Telecommunications Structures", joins our show to talk about all of this and more!