Wireless advances could mean no more cell towers
The spread of cell phones has also meant the spread of big cell towers, an unpopular sight in many places. Now, the wireless industry is looking at boosting wireless coverage in a different way: by putting small antennas on lamp-posts, utility poles and buildings.
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NEW YORK — As cell phones have spread, so have large cell towers — those unsightly stalks of steel topped by transmitters and other electronics that sprouted across the country over the last decade.
Now the wireless industry is planning a future without them, or at least without many more of them. Instead, it's looking at much smaller antennas, some tiny enough to hold in a hand. These could be placed on lampposts, utility poles and buildings — virtually anywhere with electrical and network connections.
If the technology overcomes some hurdles, it could upend the wireless industry and offer seamless service, with fewer dead spots and faster data speeds.
Some big names in the wireless world are set to demonstrate "small cell" technologies at the Mobile World Congress, the world's largest cell phone trade show, which starts Monday in Barcelona, Spain.
"We see more and more towers that become bigger and bigger, with more and bigger antennas that come to obstruct our view and clutter our landscape and are simply ugly," said Wim Sweldens, president of the wireless division of Alcatel-Lucent, the French-U.S. maker of telecommunications equipment.
"What we have realized is that we, as one of the major mobile equipment vendors, are partially if not mostly to blame for this."
Alcatel-Lucent will be at the show to demonstrate its "lightRadio cube," a cellular antenna about the size and shape of a Rubik's cube, vastly smaller than the ironing-board-sized antennas that now decorate cell towers. The cube was developed at the famous Bell Labs in New Jersey, birthplace of many other inventions when it was AT&T's research center.
In Alcatel-Lucent's vision, these little cubes could soon begin replacing conventional cell towers. Single cubes or clusters of them could be placed indoors or out and be easily hidden from view. All they need is electrical power and an optical fiber connecting them to the phone company's network.
The cube, Sweldens said, can make the notion of a conventional cell tower "go away." Alcatel-Lucent will start trials of the cube with carriers in September. The company hopes to make it commercially available next year.
For cell phone companies, the benefits of dividing their networks into smaller "cells," each one served by something like the cube antenna, go far beyond aesthetics. Smaller cells mean vastly higher capacity for calls and data traffic.
Instead of having all phones within a mile or two connect to the same cell tower, the traffic could be divided between several smaller cells, so there's less competition for the cell tower's attention.
"If it is what they claim, lightRadio could be a highly disruptive force within the wireless industry," said Dan Hays, who focuses on telecommunications at consulting firm PRTM.
Rasmus Hellberg, director of technical marketing at wireless technology developer Qualcomm Inc., said smaller cells can boost a network's capacity tenfold, far more than can be achieved by other upgrades to wireless technology that are also in the works.
That's sure to draw the interest of phone companies. They've already been deploying older generations of small-cell technology in areas where a lot of people gather, like airports, train stations and sports stadiums, but these are expensive and complicated to install.
In New York City, AT&T Inc. has started creating a network of outdoor Wi-Fi hotspots, starting in Times Square and now spreading through the midtown tourist and shopping districts. Its network has been hammered by an onslaught of data-hungry iPhone users, and this is one way of moving that traffic off the cellular network.
Smaller cells could do the same job, but for all phones, not just Wi-Fi enabled ones like the iPhone. They could also carry calls as well as data.
San Diego-based Qualcomm will be at the Barcelona show with a live demonstration of how "heterogeneous networks" — ones that mix big and small cells, can work. A key issue is minimizing radio interference between the two types of cells. Another hurdle is connecting the smaller cells to the bigger network through optical fiber or other high-capacity connections.
"That's an impediment that we're seeing many operators struggling with right now as data volumes have increased," Hays said.
LM Ericsson AB, the Swedish company that's the largest maker of wireless network equipment in the world, is also introducing a more compact antenna at the show, one it calls "the first stepping stone towards a heterogeneous network."
Small cellular base stations have already penetrated hundreds of thousands of U.S. homes. Phone companies like AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. have for several years been selling "femtocells," which are about the size of a Wi-Fi router and connect to the phone company's network through a home broadband connection.
The cells project radio signals that cover a room or two, providing five bars of coverage where there might otherwise be none.
British femtocell maker Ubiquisys Ltd. will be in Barcelona to demonstrate the smallest cell yet. It's the size of a thumb and plugs into a computer's USB drive. According to Ubiquisys, the idea is that overseas travellers will plug it into their Internet-connected laptops to make calls as if they were on their home network, but there are potential problems with interference if used that way.
According to Rupert Baines, marketing head of Picochip Ltd., a more realistic application for a tiny plug-in cell is to make it work with cable boxes or Internet routers, to convert them into femtocells.
A key part of the "small cell" idea is to take femtocells outside the home, into larger buildings and even outdoors.
Picochip, a British company that's the dominant maker of chips for femtocells, will be in Barcelona to talk about its chips for "public-access" femtocells, designed to serve up to 64 phone calls at a time, with a range of more than a mile. They could be used not just to ease wireless congestion in urban areas, but to fill in dead spots on the map, Baines said.
For instance, a single femtocell could provide wireless service to a remote village, as long as there's some way to connect it to the wider network, perhaps via satellite.
Analyst Francis Sideco of research firm iSuppli pointed out a surprising consumer benefit of smaller cells: better battery life in phones.
When a lot of phones talk to the same tower, they all have to "shout" to make themselves heard, using more energy. With a smaller cell, phones can lower their "voices," much like group of people moving from a noisy ballroom to a smaller, quieter room.
"Ultimately, what you end up with is a cleaner signal, with less power," Sideco said.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Mayor Skudera's comment
The bolded comment by Mayor Skudera from this article states "We don't want a 50-foot structure next to somebody's backyard." What about a 120-foot radiation-generating structure with a constant hum from equipment cabinets next to our backyards???
* * *
TINTON FALLS — Updated rules governing the construction of solar and wind power systems, and allowing the redeveloper of the former CECOM site to change the focus of the development are getting a lot of the Borough Council's attention.
The council discussed both issues at its Feb. 1 meeting.
An ordinance setting standards and regulations for the so-called green energy systems should be voted on in about a month, Mayor Michael Skudera said.
The council added "a lot of amendments" to a proposed ordinance at its last session, he said.
Planning Board attorney Dennis Collins and borough attorney Brian Nelson, along with council President Gary Baldwin, are working out the final details, Skudera said.
"We want to make more of a balance between the rights of applicants and any neighbors," he said. "We don't want a 50-foot structure next to somebody's backyard."
Although the borough currently has no applications for the systems, "the whole point is to set up guidelines before something happens," Skudera said. "If there is an application, there will be a process to follow and standards, right now, are kind of wide open."
The council also discussed an ordinance that would reclassify the CECOM redevelopment project off Tinton Avenue to allow for unrestricted age housing.
As it stands, the development is limited to people 55 and older.
A law signed in 2009 by former Gov. Jon S. Corzine allows some age-restricted developments to be converted, and the project's developer, PRC Group of West Long Branch, has applied to do so.
The plan under discussion would keep the number of single-family houses at 151, but would limit the number of bedrooms in each unit to two and would restrict the construction of patios and decks.
"Nothing has been resolved yet, but it's progressing," Skudera said.
Skudera said the project has been discussed for about the last six months.
"Hopefully, there will be something resolved in the not-too-distant future," he said.
* * *
TINTON FALLS — Updated rules governing the construction of solar and wind power systems, and allowing the redeveloper of the former CECOM site to change the focus of the development are getting a lot of the Borough Council's attention.
The council discussed both issues at its Feb. 1 meeting.
An ordinance setting standards and regulations for the so-called green energy systems should be voted on in about a month, Mayor Michael Skudera said.
The council added "a lot of amendments" to a proposed ordinance at its last session, he said.
Planning Board attorney Dennis Collins and borough attorney Brian Nelson, along with council President Gary Baldwin, are working out the final details, Skudera said.
"We want to make more of a balance between the rights of applicants and any neighbors," he said. "We don't want a 50-foot structure next to somebody's backyard."
Although the borough currently has no applications for the systems, "the whole point is to set up guidelines before something happens," Skudera said. "If there is an application, there will be a process to follow and standards, right now, are kind of wide open."
The council also discussed an ordinance that would reclassify the CECOM redevelopment project off Tinton Avenue to allow for unrestricted age housing.
As it stands, the development is limited to people 55 and older.
A law signed in 2009 by former Gov. Jon S. Corzine allows some age-restricted developments to be converted, and the project's developer, PRC Group of West Long Branch, has applied to do so.
The plan under discussion would keep the number of single-family houses at 151, but would limit the number of bedrooms in each unit to two and would restrict the construction of patios and decks.
"Nothing has been resolved yet, but it's progressing," Skudera said.
Skudera said the project has been discussed for about the last six months.
"Hopefully, there will be something resolved in the not-too-distant future," he said.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
New technology obviates need for giant cell towers and equipment cabinets
With this new technology by Alcatel-Lucent, an antenna could be attached to any light pole, any building, etc., in the area that needs coverage with this tiny box attached to it that replaces the entire equipment cabinet. I wonder what T-Mobile's excuse will be now as to why this solution won't work and why they will need to continue to try to ram this tower down our throats.
* * *
February 7, 2011 07.43pm EST
Alcatel-Lucent Puts a Cell Tower in the Palm of Your Hand
By Mark Hachman
Alcatel-Lucent on Monday unveiled a technology to shrink a cell-phone tower down to about the size of a small handheld cube, plus an antenna.
Dubbed LightRadio, the technology places the diplexer, radio, amplifier and passive cooling into a cube that can fit inside the hand. Alcatel-Lucent will begin customer trials in the second half of 2011, including China Mobile.
The idea, according to the company, is both to cut the power required for a cellular basestation as well as eliminate some of the physical infrastructure that goes along with it. Alcatel-Lucent said it believes that both the power consumption and overall cost can be reduced by half, and that it could essentially replace a cell site with just the small component as well as the antenna. The company estimates that 150 billion euros were spent on mobile access stations in 2010.
"LightRadio is a smart solution to a tough set of problems: high energy costs, the explosion of video on mobile, and connecting the unconnected," said Ben Verwaayen, the chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent.
The technology also won a conditional endorsement from Verizon. "Verizon looks forward to learning more about the benefits of lightRadio technology and how they could be applied as we continue to expand and evolve our LTE network," Tom Sawanobori, vice president of technology planning for Verizon, said in a statement.
The new Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio product family is composed of the following components: a wideband active array antenna, multiband remote radio head, baseband unit, controller, and the 5620 SAM common management solution, the company said. The wideband active array antenna will be trialed later this year and have broad product availability in 2012. Additional product family members will be available over 2012, 2013 and 2014, Alcatel Lucent said.
One way in which the company has cut costs is in virtualizing some of the processing platforms, which Alcatel-Lucent has partnered with Hewlett-Packard to do. The company also designed a chip with Freescale Semiconductor to replace passive components with digital ones.
* * *
February 7, 2011 07.43pm EST
Alcatel-Lucent Puts a Cell Tower in the Palm of Your Hand
By Mark Hachman
Alcatel-Lucent on Monday unveiled a technology to shrink a cell-phone tower down to about the size of a small handheld cube, plus an antenna.
Dubbed LightRadio, the technology places the diplexer, radio, amplifier and passive cooling into a cube that can fit inside the hand. Alcatel-Lucent will begin customer trials in the second half of 2011, including China Mobile.
The idea, according to the company, is both to cut the power required for a cellular basestation as well as eliminate some of the physical infrastructure that goes along with it. Alcatel-Lucent said it believes that both the power consumption and overall cost can be reduced by half, and that it could essentially replace a cell site with just the small component as well as the antenna. The company estimates that 150 billion euros were spent on mobile access stations in 2010.
"LightRadio is a smart solution to a tough set of problems: high energy costs, the explosion of video on mobile, and connecting the unconnected," said Ben Verwaayen, the chief executive of Alcatel-Lucent.
The technology also won a conditional endorsement from Verizon. "Verizon looks forward to learning more about the benefits of lightRadio technology and how they could be applied as we continue to expand and evolve our LTE network," Tom Sawanobori, vice president of technology planning for Verizon, said in a statement.
The new Alcatel-Lucent lightRadio product family is composed of the following components: a wideband active array antenna, multiband remote radio head, baseband unit, controller, and the 5620 SAM common management solution, the company said. The wideband active array antenna will be trialed later this year and have broad product availability in 2012. Additional product family members will be available over 2012, 2013 and 2014, Alcatel Lucent said.
One way in which the company has cut costs is in virtualizing some of the processing platforms, which Alcatel-Lucent has partnered with Hewlett-Packard to do. The company also designed a chip with Freescale Semiconductor to replace passive components with digital ones.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
February 3rd meeting adjourned
The February 3rd meeting has been adjourned. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 17th. There has been no meeting since December 3rd. How much longer can this go on??????????
Friday, January 28, 2011
Another loss and a tongue-lashing for T-Mobile
Neighbors win T-Mobile tower fight
'Cavalier attitude' toward Northridge residents cited.
By Tony Castro, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/27/2011 09:48:45 PM PST
Updated: 01/27/2011 09:50:12 PM PST
VAN NUYS - City officials Thursday dealt a death blow to a controversial cellular phone tower in Northridge and gave T-Mobile representatives a tongue-lashing over how the company treats residents.
The South Valley Area Planning Commission unanimously denied an appeal by T-Mobile of an earlier city zoning administrator's decision to block the tower.
Officials said they were swayed not only by the merits of the case against the tower, but also by what one commissioner said was T-Mobile representatives' "cavalier attitude."
Residents opposing the tower complained that T-Mobile's representatives had failed to faithfully work with them on finding an alternative site - a directive made by the commission to both sides at a Dec. 9 hearing.
Commission Vice President Gordon Murley said he did not accept a litany of excuses given by T-Mobile as to why other alternative sites were not viable and that the company could only build the tower at the originally proposed location.
"I would just say to any cellular that comes in here: Do your homework so we can support you," Murley said. "Don't come in and tell us you have a right to do it and that it's needed there without the proof presented."
Commissioners also chided T-Mobile representatives for trying to circumvent the residents' input by withholding an alternative design proposal until the hearing itself.
Residents complained that they were caught off-guard by the company's last-minute submission.
Hannah Lee, an assistant planning deputy for Councilman Greig Smith, whose district covers the affected neighborhood, told the hearing her office was opposing the T-Mobile appeal because it did not believe the company had seriously tried to work with the residents.
"(Smith) is not convinced (T-Mobile) tried to make a good faith effort," Lee said.
Commissioners said they would not take into consideration T-Mobile's last-minute design change submission because of its surprise nature.
The commission voted 4-0 to deny the appeal. One commissioner recused herself because she had been on maternity leave during the Dec. 9 hearing on the issue.
T-Mobile's only option for overturning the commission's decision is a lawsuit in the courts.
Two representatives for the T-Mobile contractor Synergy Development Services stormed out of the hearing and would not comment on the decision nor on the company's tactics.
Clark Harris, a T-Mobile spokesman who was reached by phone after the meeting, said the company would look for alternative sites in the area.
But residents were elated over the decision.
"This shows what can happen when you organize," said Irene Boyd, a board member of the Northridge South Neighborhood Council, which fought the application. "When you organize, you can win."
Clifton J. Burwell, the 82-year-old resident who spearheaded the opposition, called the decision a victory for the neighborhood in which he and wife Ginette have lived for 60 years.
"It's been worth what it took to win," he said.
Only last fall, these residents were celebrating what appeared to be a clear-cut defeat of T-Mobile's efforts to erect the tower in their neighborhood.
But they were caught off-guard when T-Mobile appealed the zoning administrator's denial of the application - something T-Mobile officials originally said they would not do.
Company officials said they changed their minds because they are obligated to improve service to San Fernando Valley customers.
"It is T-Mobile's standard practice to identify a site that both meets our coverage needs and follows all local ordinances and guidelines - this site accomplishes both," said T-Mobile spokesman Jarryd Gonzales.
"The residents of Northridge will benefit greatly from the improved wireless coverage provided by this new wireless facility."
T-Mobile had proposed building the cell tower on top of an existing commercial structure at the intersection of Saticoy Street and Louise Avenue.
Residents complained that erecting a 10-foot high tower on the roof of a second story building at the intersection would create an eyesore, destroy property values and pose a health threat from radiation emitted from the powerful signals.
At the hearing, several residents raised concern for the safety of children in a preschool nearby.
State and local governments are prevented by the 1996 Telecommunications Act from considering health concerns in locating wireless facilities. But Commissioner Lydia Drew Mather said it was a concern for the preschool children that was her uppermost reason for denying the T-Mobile appeal.
In denying the T-Mobile building request last October, city Zoning Administrator Maya E. Zaitzevsky cited - among other determining factors - that the company's proposed location "will not be desirable to the public convenience or welfare."
In her denial of T-Mobile's application, the zoning administrator listed other reasons for her decision including:
The location is not proper in relation to adjacent uses or the development of the community.
The use will be materially detrimental to the character of the development in the immediate neighborhood.
The proposed location will not be in harmony with the various elements and objective of the General Plan.
The project is inconsistent with the general requirements of the Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Standards set forth in Section 12.21-A.20 of the Municipal Code.
According to the city zoning administrator's report denying the T-Mobile request, no fewer than 224 such towers presently exist within a four-mile radius of the Saticoy and Louis location with applications pending for eight others.
'Cavalier attitude' toward Northridge residents cited.
By Tony Castro, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/27/2011 09:48:45 PM PST
Updated: 01/27/2011 09:50:12 PM PST
VAN NUYS - City officials Thursday dealt a death blow to a controversial cellular phone tower in Northridge and gave T-Mobile representatives a tongue-lashing over how the company treats residents.
The South Valley Area Planning Commission unanimously denied an appeal by T-Mobile of an earlier city zoning administrator's decision to block the tower.
Officials said they were swayed not only by the merits of the case against the tower, but also by what one commissioner said was T-Mobile representatives' "cavalier attitude."
Residents opposing the tower complained that T-Mobile's representatives had failed to faithfully work with them on finding an alternative site - a directive made by the commission to both sides at a Dec. 9 hearing.
Commission Vice President Gordon Murley said he did not accept a litany of excuses given by T-Mobile as to why other alternative sites were not viable and that the company could only build the tower at the originally proposed location.
"I would just say to any cellular that comes in here: Do your homework so we can support you," Murley said. "Don't come in and tell us you have a right to do it and that it's needed there without the proof presented."
Commissioners also chided T-Mobile representatives for trying to circumvent the residents' input by withholding an alternative design proposal until the hearing itself.
Residents complained that they were caught off-guard by the company's last-minute submission.
Hannah Lee, an assistant planning deputy for Councilman Greig Smith, whose district covers the affected neighborhood, told the hearing her office was opposing the T-Mobile appeal because it did not believe the company had seriously tried to work with the residents.
"(Smith) is not convinced (T-Mobile) tried to make a good faith effort," Lee said.
Commissioners said they would not take into consideration T-Mobile's last-minute design change submission because of its surprise nature.
The commission voted 4-0 to deny the appeal. One commissioner recused herself because she had been on maternity leave during the Dec. 9 hearing on the issue.
T-Mobile's only option for overturning the commission's decision is a lawsuit in the courts.
Two representatives for the T-Mobile contractor Synergy Development Services stormed out of the hearing and would not comment on the decision nor on the company's tactics.
Clark Harris, a T-Mobile spokesman who was reached by phone after the meeting, said the company would look for alternative sites in the area.
But residents were elated over the decision.
"This shows what can happen when you organize," said Irene Boyd, a board member of the Northridge South Neighborhood Council, which fought the application. "When you organize, you can win."
Clifton J. Burwell, the 82-year-old resident who spearheaded the opposition, called the decision a victory for the neighborhood in which he and wife Ginette have lived for 60 years.
"It's been worth what it took to win," he said.
Only last fall, these residents were celebrating what appeared to be a clear-cut defeat of T-Mobile's efforts to erect the tower in their neighborhood.
But they were caught off-guard when T-Mobile appealed the zoning administrator's denial of the application - something T-Mobile officials originally said they would not do.
Company officials said they changed their minds because they are obligated to improve service to San Fernando Valley customers.
"It is T-Mobile's standard practice to identify a site that both meets our coverage needs and follows all local ordinances and guidelines - this site accomplishes both," said T-Mobile spokesman Jarryd Gonzales.
"The residents of Northridge will benefit greatly from the improved wireless coverage provided by this new wireless facility."
T-Mobile had proposed building the cell tower on top of an existing commercial structure at the intersection of Saticoy Street and Louise Avenue.
Residents complained that erecting a 10-foot high tower on the roof of a second story building at the intersection would create an eyesore, destroy property values and pose a health threat from radiation emitted from the powerful signals.
At the hearing, several residents raised concern for the safety of children in a preschool nearby.
State and local governments are prevented by the 1996 Telecommunications Act from considering health concerns in locating wireless facilities. But Commissioner Lydia Drew Mather said it was a concern for the preschool children that was her uppermost reason for denying the T-Mobile appeal.
In denying the T-Mobile building request last October, city Zoning Administrator Maya E. Zaitzevsky cited - among other determining factors - that the company's proposed location "will not be desirable to the public convenience or welfare."
In her denial of T-Mobile's application, the zoning administrator listed other reasons for her decision including:
The location is not proper in relation to adjacent uses or the development of the community.
The use will be materially detrimental to the character of the development in the immediate neighborhood.
The proposed location will not be in harmony with the various elements and objective of the General Plan.
The project is inconsistent with the general requirements of the Wireless Telecommunications Facilities Standards set forth in Section 12.21-A.20 of the Municipal Code.
According to the city zoning administrator's report denying the T-Mobile request, no fewer than 224 such towers presently exist within a four-mile radius of the Saticoy and Louis location with applications pending for eight others.
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