Did you know that overlooked issues, such as the amount of concrete needed to stabilise new cell towers, are actually major factors in the economics of rural deployments? Find out how tower size and building costs are part of the coverage puzzle – and how the industry is working to solve them.
Although there was much discussion of spectrum and other aspects of coverage, a thought-provoking presentation on some little-explored issues caught our attention. We tend to think about the costs of RAN solutions and backhaul, but we often don’t think about the physical cost of deploying and building cell sites.
Happily, one speaker shed some light on this neglected area. During the presentation, he noted how simple things such as the amount of concrete needed to support cell towers can actually be significant barriers to progress. This is because cement is, well, heavy, and cannot easily be transported to the most remote locations. If the amount of cement required to support a cell tower or pole can be reduced, it can reduce logistics costs and make transportation into areas without infrastructure much less of a challenge.
Similarly, the size of towers and poles has always followed a typical template. However, experiments have shown that a smaller tower (albeit with a reduced coverage radius) can be perfectly acceptable – so long as the deployment is backed by a clear understanding of where people actually are, rather than where maps say they are. Smaller towers are easier to transport and build – and can also provide surplus mounting points in the event that additional coverage needs to be deployed in the future.
This is pragmatic and profound work. It also reinforces some of the conclusions about optimisation to which we referred earlier. Some coverage is better than none and can be a spur to subsequent innovation and investment. It shows that careful consideration of issues that are typically overlooked (concrete reinforcements, tower size) can reduce the cost of deploying services and the time taken to build them.
All of these are key factors and need to be incorporated into future coverage extension plans. It’s clear that coverage does not only depend on issues such as spectrum selection but has other, practical considerations that have often been overlooked.
At WTL, we’ve long been aware that coverage planning is a question that needs to be explored from a wide range of perspectives and this valuable work emphasises the importance of thinking beyond more obvious technical issues.
If you’re wondering how to make rural connectivity work, let’s talk about how we can optimise deployments and plan for the unique requirements of your location.
