Urban and rural communities are becoming more congested with multiple RF signals from operators and unsightly lattice-type towers. As a result, planning departments are rejecting additional visible communications infrastructure. This sensitivity to aesthetics makes it difficult and expensive for operators to bring much-needed service into underserved areas.
A Collaborative Solution
Alpha Wireless, Cellnex Ireland and other Irish companies are working together to bring high-speed, quality mobile service to crowded urban and quiet rural areas, concealing equipment in unobtrusive streetworks fixtures.
Technology innovations from Alpha Wireless, such as a Tri-Sector antenna platform using Frequency Transparent Dipole Technology™ (FTDT), are helping solve this impasse. The new technology conceals three sectors in one compact, attractive canister with top performance. With up to four antennas mounted on one pole, the technology offers tremendous cost savings.
Neutral host Cellnex’s Get Connected Program enables Irish communities to request improved mobile service. Cellnex designs solutions using Alpha Wireless modular Tri-Sector antennas concealed in streetworks fixtures such as light poles, rooftops and bins. These solutions easily pass council approval.
A Win All-Around
The new solution delivers improved mobile service to communities of all kinds. It enables multiple carriers to share infrastructure, satisfying planning and zoning commissions’ aesthetic concerns. Several operators share the installation cost and can provide service where they previously could not justify it alone.
Alpha Wireless CEO Fergal Lawlor, and Cellnex Ireland Managing Director Colin Cunningham, talked about the success of their shared solutions in urban and rural Irish communities.
Ground Zero: Kilkenny
Colin
We’re evolving this solution. For example, in Kilkenny, we’ve swapped out the streetlight pole, putting up a new pole with the streetlight back on it and the antenna above. That will become more and more the way to deploy.
The councils are looking at the street infrastructure, and they’re saying, well, why are we putting up another pole? There’s something there already. Why can’t we use that location, swap it out and end up with one pole in a multiple-use case?
We’ve managed to swap out a streetlight in three or four different councils, so I think that’s an area that will continue to evolve. We’re working with Alpha Wireless, Jason Redmond (JRA Engineering) and Delmec to get a design that works.
A Solution for the Rest of the World
Fergal
It’s great working with the Cellnex group, and as it goes out to a wider telecommunications audience, we see that what we’re doing here in Ireland is now being looked at across Europe.
Colin
We didn’t invent this. We saw this in other markets and what Alpha Wireless was doing in America and the UK. They’ve been rolling out streetworks solutions for 15 years in the UK. But because Cellnex is part of a broader European group, other operators are looking at what we’re doing in Ireland and asking how they can bring this to the European markets.
We’re promoting the fact that we have all these Irish companies involved in this process. Can we export that expertise? Let’s try.
Solve Challenging Deployment Issues
When considering a new deployment tactic, who better to have by your side than an experienced partner? Alpha Wireless has been manufacturing and deploying wireless antennas worldwide for over 15 years, and we have over 1.5 million antennas installed.
We continue to innovate so that our technology resolves the challenges our customers face today. Contact us to learn more about how we can help with your network challenges.
Find more information about Alpha Wireless Tri-Sector antenna solutions.
- Our Tri-Sector Solutions: https://alphawireless.com/macro-concealed-tri-sector-solutions/
- AW3836 Tri-Sector Antenna: AW3836 Tri-Sector antenna
- Our FTDT Technology: Frequency Transparent Dipole Technology™ (FTDT)