NATE Statement on Verizon Partnership Agreement/FCC Filing
For Immediate Release:
May 19, 2025
NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, on behalf of its member contractor companies (who employ tower technicians), had a breakthrough in negotiations with Verizon that was included as part of the official filing/agreement at the FCC for the Verizon/Frontier merger. The following statement can be attributed to NATE President & CEO Todd Schlekeway:
“NATE’s leadership has been engaged in active negotiations with Verizon executives focused on addressing a range of issues and reforms that, when implemented, will lead to a more sustainable and healthier environment for the Association’s member contractors and their tower technician workforce. NATE is excited to announce that these collaborative and respectful meetings have led to an agreement that we believe will lead to positive, impactful reforms for our contractor member companies related to pricing, Master Service Agreements, current 3rd party vendors and mandates, financial audits, and workforce requirements. In the end, as part of the negotiations process, NATE did not receive every request but that is how negotiations go.”
“NATE would like to extend our gratitude to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and his staff for collaborating with the Association’s leadership and Verizon to help our respective organizations come to terms on this agreement. During his tenure at the FCC, Chairman Carr has invested a lot of time and sweat equity visiting sites and conducting tower climbs with some of America’s best contractor firms and technicians. These tangible field experiences have provided the Chairman with a deep understanding of the prominent role that NATE members play daily conducting the tough, gritty work on the frontlines to enable connectivity.”
“NATE also extends our appreciation to Verizon for coming to the table and brokering an agreement that will foster a stronger relationship and partnership between the Association’s contractor members and those who count Verizon as a customer. NATE looks forward to the next steps in our collaboration with Verizon, which includes establishing the official working group between our respective organizations.”
To read the official agreement letter Verizon filed to the FCC, visit HERE. To read the official FCC press release announcement, click HERE.
To view FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s social media post on the subject, visit HERE. For more information on NATE, www.natehome.com.
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NATE: The Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association
NATE is a non-profit trade association dedicated to providing a unified voice for companies in the diverse tower and communications infrastructure construction, service and maintenance industries. Today the Association boasts approximately 1,005 member companies (mostly small businesses) that construct, service or maintain hundreds of thousands of communications towers and next generation networks throughout the United States and 12 other countries.
