Substantial orders for unobtrusive antenna structures, won by international infrastructure solutions provider AlanDick, will enable the UK’s most colourful cellular operator to improve network coverage in environmentally sensitive locations throughout the nation.
The designs chosen are lifelike representations of telephone and electricity poles, the latter having exact replicas of transformer housings inside which are placed the microwave dishes linking the tiny low-power base stations (known as microcells) into the main telephone network.
Inside these realistic housings antennas are effectively invisible, creating no visual disturbance whatsoever. They fit unobtrusively into almost any environment, harmonising with other amenities, stated Steven Green, Commercial Manager within the Radio & Communications Infrastructure product group of AlanDick. These poles are just a couple of products from our broad portfolio of environmental products, for which we offer a comprehensive selection of off-the-shelf designs as well as all manner of bespoke solutions.
People today expect seamless mobile coverage wherever they go but increasingly resent any visual intrusion, he continued. These low profile designs are the ideal solution and satisfy an increasing demand from operators, planning authorities and environmentalists for cellular sites that do not offend the eye.
The poles have a bark effect external finish that surrounds the feeder cables and antenna within. In fact the appearance is so realistic that examples were given permission for erection in a Yorkshire Dales national park where antenna structures were previously outlawed entirely. Since then a treaty of best practice has been agreed allowing designed sites to be provided in all 13 national parks.
AlanDick is the sole supplier of these pole structures to the network, which chose the company in preference to alternative options. Deployment of the structures is underway currently with great success and AlanDick is negotiating to offer the same product to other operators.
Concluded Green: Environmental solutions need to look good but must also deliver satisfactory radio performance; producing them is easy but making them work well is not! Our established reputation and expertise in both radio and structural engineering give us deeper insight than our competitors, making us unique in this marketplace.