Microwave, cellular, and PCS antennas supported by self-supporting tower.

Riverton, Utah, 2006

This tower supports intercity microwave relay antennas on the top platform, and cellular/PCS antennas side-mounted below the platform. The tower itself, a four-leg square skeletal structure, is typical of the towers that AT&T's Long Lines department constructed for long distance voice service back in AT&T's "Bell System" days, before the 1984 divestiture.

Like all towers built by Long Lines, it's an exceedingly solid structure, designed to support large, high-gain microwave antennas. These antennas have very narrow beamwidths, requiring extremely rigid support to prevent beam-aim errors under severe weather (high wind and/or ice buildup) conditions.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by self-supporting tower originally built to support microwave antennas.

Ackerly, Texas, 2004


This tower supports cellular and PCS antennas on the top platform, replacing the microwave antennas that were once located there.

Like the Riverton tower shown above, this tower is a four-leg square skeletal structure built by AT&T's Long Lines department for long distance voice service. In recent years, AT&T has removed many of its intercity microwave links from service, and replaced them with fiber optic links. In the process, it has removed microwave antennas from the towers, and, in many cases, recycled the towers for other purposes. Here we have an example of a recycled tower. It's a far stronger structure than cellular and PCS antennas would require, but it certainly serves the purpose.

Of course, AT&T isn't the only long distance company that has replaced microwave links with fiber. Frequency congestion in the microwave bands has made it practically impossible for any company to add new capacity to existing microwave links, so fiber has turned out to be the only way to add network capacity. Here's an article that I wrote a few years ago on this subject.

Cellular, PCS, and mobile relay antennas supported by self-supporting tower originally built to support microwave antennas.

Hooper, Utah, 2002


This tower supports cellular, PCS, and land mobile antennas. It was was originally constructed by MCI to support microwave antennas for its long distance network; however, like AT&T, MCI has replaced most of its microwave network with fiber and dismantled its microwave network. This tower was originally taller; only the bottom 100 feet stands today.

This tower is located on property owned by the City of Hooper, and managed by by Prime Communication Sites LLC. The mobile relay antenna (top of the tower, right leg) is the city's base station.

Cellular antenna disguised as conifer tree

Salt Lake City, Utah, 2005


It doesn't look much like a tree, but fake "pine tree antenna towers" like this are common.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by self-supporting monopole tower.

Roy, Utah, 2002.

This is a "community tower" occupied by several cellular and PCS companies. Note the five sets of antennas at different levels.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by vulture tower

Lake Jackson, Texas, October 2006



Actually, this is a self-supporting skeletal tower that's been adopted by vultures. They assembly in the tower at dusk to roost for the night, and remain on the tower for a couple of hours in the morning before taking off for the day's hunt.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by self-supporting skeletal tower.

Houston, Texas, 2006.


This is a another "community tower" occupied by several cellular and PCS companies. Note the seven sets of antennas at different levels.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by building.

Cleveland, Ohio, 2001.


Ohio Wholesale Business Furniture building, Cleveland.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by building.

Ogden, Utah, 2002.


First Security (now Wells Fargo) Bank Building, Ogden.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by industrial chimney.

Avon Lake, Ohio, 2001.


Orion Power Midwest electric generation station.

Cellular antenna disguised as historic water tower.

Point Sur State Historic Park, Big Sur, California, 2001.



The Point Sur State Historic Park commemorates the history of the Point Sur Lightstation, an 1889 lighthouse standing atop a volcanic rock on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. The lighthouse originally required the services of four lighthouse keepers who lived, with their families, on the rock. In the 1960s, the U.S. Coast Guard electrified the light and converted it to automatic operation, thereby eliminating the need for keepers. The last keeper left in 1974, and the keepers' residences, together with several supporting buildings, were abandoned, and the old wooden water tower was removed.

Now part of the California state park system, the old buildings are being restored by the Central Coast Lighthouse Keepers, a volunteer organization. In cooperation with the Lighthouse Keepers and the State of California, AT&T Wireless has reconstructed the water tower as a cellular antenna site. The present tower is an exact visual reproduction of the original tower, based on a 1929 photograph; however, the clapboard siding is RF-transparent plastic resembling the original wood clapboard.

This tower was included in National Geographic Magazine's "Cell Phonies" web page.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by electric power transmission tower.

Ogden, Utah, 2002.

This antenna is located on a transmission structure owned by Utah Power Company. Note that the antenna is located below the power lines.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by electric power transmission tower.

Cleveland, Ohio, 2001.


This antenna is supported by a steel monopole which has been placed inside an existing electric power transmission-line tower owned by Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company. Note that the antenna is located above the transmission line.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by electric power transmission tower.

Alvin, Texas, 2006.

Another example of an antenna supported by a steel monopole inside an existing electric power transmission-line tower (owner unknown). Again, the antenna is located above the transmission line.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by wood electric power transmission poles

Salt Lake City, Utah

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by water tower.

Ogden, Utah, 2001.


These antennas are located on a water tower is owned by Business Depot Ogden. Note that the antennas are located below the water tank.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by water tower.

Lake Jackson, Texas, 2005.


These antennas are located on a water tower owned by the City of Lake Jackson. Note that the antennas are located above the water tank.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by athletic field lighting structure.

Ogden, Utah, 2002.
These antennas are placed on a a lighting structure in Lindquist Field, in Ogden Utah. Lindquist field is the home of the Ogden Raptors Baseball Team.

These antennas are positioned to provide coverage of the stadium seating area. The aerial photo below shows the shadow of the tower in the the center of the image, with the white roof of the equipment building adjacent to the base of the tower. Note the shadow of the antennas on the shadow of the tower.

PCS antennas supported by parking lot lighting structure

Santa Fe County, New Mexico, 2005
These antennas are supported by a lighting structure located at the eastern edge of the parking lot at the Santa Fe Opera. This location provides coverage for:

• The parking lot to the northwest, west, and southwest of the antenna. This aerial photo shows the parking lot.
  
• The interior of Crosby Theater, the main theatrical venue, to the northwest. As this photo shows, the Crosby Theater is an open-air structure that allows RF signals into the seating area.
  
• Vehicles traveling on U.S. Highway 84/285. As this topographic map shows, the highway is located on the valley floor about 200 feet east of the parking lot, and about 80 feet below the elevation of the parking lot.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by self-supporting skeletal tower.

Cleveland, Ohio, 2001.


These antennas are located on a self-supporting tower constructed specifically for cellular and PCS antennas. Verizon Cellular.

PCS antennas supported by painted monopole tower.

Ogden, Utah, 2002.


These antennas are supported by a monopole structure specfically designed to support PCS antennas. The structure stands near the Utah Power Company's 12th Street Substation, in Ogden, surrounded by several wood utility poles. The monopole has been painted brown, perhaps to disguise it as just another utility pole.

Cellular/PCS antennas supported by recycled gas station sign monopole

Castroville, California, 2002


This monopole structure is located on the site of a former gas station. It apparently supported a sign at the top, plus one or more other smaller signs at ground level. The remains of one of the older ground-level signs is still visible.

Cellular and PCS antennas supported by steel monopole tower.

Houston, Texas, 2005.


This is perhaps the most common structure for cellular and PCS antennas located in urban areas. Note that this pole supports two sets of antennas: cellular at the top, and PCS just below cellular.