Where the hawks fly: Commnet Broadband hires its first woman tower technician

Jun. 12—In an industry dominated by men, Melody Duncan has found her footing.

Cell tower technicians climb hundreds of feet to clean and repair equipment on cell towers. One reward is great views.

"Sometimes you get hawks flying by you or you can see birds in the distance, or you can see a nearby lake. It's a view that you get to experience and not many people get to see that view," Duncan said.

Cell tower technicians prefer the title "tower dogs," said Edward Martinez, who at 65 has been working in the industry for decades.

"It's a pride thing. We're hardworking. We're always on mountaintops in the snow and the rain and the heat," Martinez said. Martinez doesn't care for the official name tower technician.

But he does like working alongside Duncan, who is the first female tower technician to be hired by Commnet Broadband directly. Duncan is also the first Laguna Pueblo tribal member employed by the company as a cell tower technician.

Until 2018, the company contracted out all of its technician teams, not directly hiring them. Martinez joined the company's first tower technician crew in Flagstaff, Arizona, and was brought to Colorado to start the team there.

One of Martinez's goals when he started on the Flagstaff crew was to hire a woman and to hire Native Americans.

"Since we're working in the Navajo Nation, I wanted to help out and get some of the people that we're working on their land, to work with us. I didn't do the direct hiring, but I get to put my two cents in," Martinez said.

Noelan Ramirez, the tower service supervisor for the four corners region, did have the hiring decision. Duncan had all of the certifications she needed and seemed ready to grow and learn with the company, Ramirez said.

The majority of cell tower technicians are men. Duncan has heard of other women who are cell tower technicians, but she's never met one.

"It was kind of intimidating because I was wondering why there were no girls in the industry, but after I started learning and doing it, I thought, 'Wow, I can see why all the guys like this.'"

The tower crew is based out of Bayfield, Colorado, but services cell towers all over the four-corners area. Duncan's typical workday starts in a Bayfield warehouse to gather equipment, then the crew drives long distances to meet at the work site, which is often a remote cell tower.

The team completes a safety meeting, checks their gear, then Duncan gets climbing.

Climbing is her favorite part of the job.

"When you get up there, yeah it's scary, but I have a healthy respect for heights. It's a beautiful view once you get up there," she said.

The crew works on different types of towers. Monopole's with a singular pole are common, while guyed towers, which are anchored to the ground at different heights, can be built taller. Most of the work they do is on self-supporters, which are an easier climb because they are built with a lattice framework. A typical climb is 100 feet.

"The highest I've gone personally is 300 feet, and that was in Idaho, because their towers are big," Duncan said.

Cell tower technicians help maintain access to emergency services.

"We're almost essentially first responders for FirstNet, which is cell service for first responders," Ramirez said. "If that breaks down in our region, we're direct support for that maintenance."

The most difficult part of the job is staying up to date on new technology, Duncan said. When new technology is implemented, like 4G or 5G, cell tower equipment has to be upgraded. The job can be tough and dangerous.

"We suffer a lot," said Martinez. "It's real hard and it's a very dangerous job. Luckily, we try to train our people right — teach them the way we do things that we've done throughout the years, a safe way so that at the end of the day everybody goes home alive."

Duncan entered the industry in 2020, when a previous employer suggested she broaden her horizons.

She was able to get some technical education and started working in the field, but the company she was working for went under, and she spent another two years working 9 to 5 with hotel and labor work.

In December, she began working as a tower technician for a company in Utah, but she felt there weren't opportunities for advancement, and found herself being given assignments on the ground instead of the high-climbing jobs she was qualified for.

In April, Commnet Broadband hired her, and it's been a great fit.

Duncan is a great addition to the team, Ramirez said.

"I hope everybody could get the opportunity to have someone like Melody on one of their crews and everybody should definitely be open to hiring females in the tower industry," he said.