FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 19, 2009

TIA Engineering Committee Meets With Chinese Delegation on Towers

TR-14 Committee to Update Two Structural Standards for Antennas

Arlington, Va. – On Nov. 11, during a recent meeting in Pittsburgh of the Telecommunications Industry Association's (TIA) TR-14 Point-to-Point Communications Systems Engineering Committee, members of the standards developing group's subcommittee TR-14.7 Structural Standards for Steel Antenna Towers and Antenna Supporting Structures met with a distinguished delegation of China's leading structural engineers. The meeting was a follow-up to the TR-14.7 members' visit to China earlier this year.

The TIA subcommittee is discussing approaches for the internationalization of the TIA-222-G Structural Standard for Antenna Supporting Structures and Antennas and fostering working relationships with other standards groups around the world. At the meeting, TR-14.7 also agreed to start work on a third addendum on base plates for TIA-222-G. TIA-222-G is referenced in the International Building Code and was first issued in 1959. The standard is reaffirmed or revised every five years by TR-14.7.

The Chinese delegates were:

• Professor Renie MA – Tonga University – Director of the Committee on High Rising Structures of the China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization.
• Professor Minjuan HE - Tonga University – Vice-Director of the Committee on Timber Engineering of Architectural Society China and Secretary-General of the Committee on High-Rising Structures of the China Association for Engineering Construction Standardization
• Mr. Yushan XIE – Engineering Director of Guang Don Telecommunications Design and Research Institute
• Mr. Jianzhong JING – Engineering Director of China Information Technology Designing Consulting Institute
• Mr. Fanglin WANG – Engineering Director of Valmont China
• Mr. Peilin QIAN – Marketing Director of Valmont China

TR-14.7 is looking forward to a continuing dialog and relationship with the China Association for Engineering Construction.

Also at the meeting, an update on ANSI/TIA-1019 Structural Standards for Steel Gin Poles Used for Installation of Antenna Towers and Antenna Supporting Structures was provided. First released in 2004, the standard is being updated to provide minimum loading requirements for towers under construction, alteration or maintenance, and address specialized equipment such as gin poles, frames, hoists and the temporary supports necessary to safely complete those tasks, along with the design requirements for a gin pole. It will consider special construction requirements and processes commonly used when removing an existing antenna from an existing tower, or removing all or a portion of an existing tower. The revised standard will be named Structural Standards for Installation, Alteration and Maintenance of Antenna Supporting Structures and Antennas. Updated material in the revised standard will be presented at the National Association for Tower Erectors (NATE) annual conference in February. It is anticipated the revised standard will be available during the later part of 2010.

Additional topics discussed at the meeting included small wind turbine structures, fatigue, and dynamic gust response. There was also a Reliability Task Group work session and a tour of Crown Castle USA's National Operation Center (NOC) facility where calls are routed for processing. Crown Castle manages and leases over 20,000 antenna tower sites.

TR-14.7 also held elections for the Chair and Vice-Chair positions. Brian Reese, ReliaPOLE Inspection Services Company, and John Erichsen, EET, LLC, were elected for their second terms in these leadership positions, respectively. TIA thanks them for their dedication to the development of industry standards.

About TR-14 and TR-14.7
TIA's Engineering Committee TR-14 Point to Point Communications Systems is responsible for standards and recommended practices related to terrestrial fixed point-to-point radio communications equipment and systems. Within Engineering Committee TR-14, Subcommittee 14.7 is the formulating committee for the ANSI/TIA-G 222 structural standard. The Committee and Subcommittee comprise volunteer engineers and industry personnel from tower manufacturers, consulting firms, construction firms, tower owners, and wireless carriers.

About TIA Standards Development
Thousands of communications leaders work through TIA's standards program to enhance the business environment for telecommunications, broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite, unified communications, emergency communications, vehicular telematics and healthcare ICT.

More than 1,100 subject-matter experts and other industry leaders participate in TIA's 70+ engineering committees, subcommittees, working groups and Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) and the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2). Their collaborative efforts have produced more than 3,500 standards documents. These invaluable reference tools are used by industry and government entities across the globe to help develop numerous products and services.

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, tradeshows, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. With roots dating back to 1924, TIA enhances the business environment for broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite and unified communications. Members' products and services empower communications in every industry and market, including healthcare, education, security, public safety, transportation, government, the military, the environment and entertainment.

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