Keeping Telecommunications Online In Inclement Weather

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Telecommunications plays a major role in our daily lives as we use our cellular phones to transfer information every day. In many cases this is not critical data, as we have grown to use our cell phones for entertainment purposes. Streaming movies or chatting with friends would be negatively impacted by cellular outages, but this would not be the end of the world for most users. Just like insurance is only there for the times that you need it, telecommunications is only crucial wen you need it. Although we appreciate all the rest of the time when we are using the capabilities of modern cellular networks to transfer information from one user to the next, it is really during emergency situations that we find the cell phone to be a critical tool for survival. Sometimes, life and death can be being decided by the signal that cell phone gets, especially during inclement weather. These are the times when we are not just enjoying good cell phone coverage, but needing it.

 

Cellular towers represent a prefect target for lightning strikes, especially if they are positioned in remote areas with poor grounding capabilities. These towers not only are constructed of materials that can effectively conduct electricity, but also house components that can be easily damaged by power surges. Both of these things are present when a cell tower is struck by lightning, with the strike usually happening at or near the top of the tower. This impacts the strike point itself, where fire and explosions take place, and also overwhelms the RRH (remote radio head.) This component is essentially the group of machines that receives the signal from your cell phone on the ground. The RRH is directly connected to the BSU (base station unit) which is the group of components that transmits that data received from the RRH to the network itself, and allows for other users to receive it or transmit to it. When the RRH is overwhelmed by a power surge and damaged, the electricity will flow along the connection lines to the BSU and many times overwhelm it as well. This compounds the amount of damage that has happened as a result of a single strike, and almost assures that this particular cell dower will be rendered inoperable until it is repaired. The amount of time that this tower is offline not only increases losses to the company in the form of money, but also increases the potential for loss of life as a result of a user not being able to connect during the time when it is most necessary. To keep cell towers functioning for the maximum periods of time, effective surge protection devices and systems are installed throughout the structure and along all pathways. Through minimization of damage we can increase the uptimes of cellular connection, and ultimately provide more connectivity when it is most necessary and critical. Surge protection is saving lives as well as providing better service to customers.