The FCC and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) have jointly released a Communications Tower Best Practices Guide intended to ensure the safety of tower workers. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA, Dorothy Dougherty, explain that the guide stems from both agencies’ commitment to ensuring the safety of tower workers. Chairman Pai states that as more Americans use mobile devices to call, text and stream content, the safety of workers who maintain and construct communications towers is more critical than ever. “Every day, communications tower workers face potential hazards that can be deadly if not performed safely, and dozens of fatalities have occurred over the past few years. Every tower climber death is preventable.” The two agencies worked together hosting workshops with all industry stakeholders to identify and establish accepted practices for performing communication towers work safely. While not legally binding, the guide is intended to reduce the fatalities involved in communications tower work.
