Mobile communication tower: the 'steel giant' connecting the world
一、Construction cost of mobile communication tower
The construction cost of mobile communication towers mainly includes equipment procurement and installation costs. At present, the investment and operation costs of 5G macro base stations are too high, with the price of a single 5G macro base station reaching as high as 160000 yuan. It is reported that China Mobile recently announced the results of the centralized procurement of wireless network main equipment for the second phase of 5G in 2020, with a total demand for 232143 5G base stations and a total procurement amount of 37.088 billion yuan. Based on this calculation, the price of a single 5G macro base station is 160000 yuan.
Due to the higher frequency bands used by 5G and the reduced coverage of outdoor macro base stations, the number of 5G base stations will be 3-4 times that of 4G to meet the same coverage target. Taking frequency changes as an example, from 2G to 5G, the frequency of communication network technology has shown a comprehensive upward trend, and the natural wavelength changes are becoming shorter and shorter. The shorter the wavelength, the poorer the ability to bypass obstacles, so the current base stations have become smaller and the coverage area has decreased. The typical coverage range of 5G is 100-300 meters, and it is about 1 kilometer for 4G. With multiple times the difference, 5G needs at least 4 times the number of base stations to achieve the coverage scale of 4G. At present, there are about 5 million 4G base stations. Based on the minimum value of 5G base stations being twice that of 4G base stations, more than 10 million 5G macro base stations are needed.
5G macro base stations also face higher operation and maintenance costs, including electricity bills and power consumption for computer room air conditioning. Based on a power consumption of 3500W, the annual power consumption of a single 5G macro base station is 3.5 kW x 24 hours x 365 days=30000 kWh of electricity. At a price of 0.5 yuan/kWh, the annual electricity cost of a single 5G base station is as high as 15000 yuan, while the annual electricity cost of 10 million 5G macro base stations is 150 billion yuan. If the power consumption of the computer room air conditioning is added, the cost will be higher, and the total profit of the three major operators in 2020 is only 140 billion yuan, which brings huge pressure to the operators.
二、Maintenance cost of mobile communication tower
The maintenance cost of mobile communication towers involves multiple aspects, among which energy consumption costs account for a relatively large proportion. In the entire mobile communication network, the energy consumption cost of base stations accounts for about 72%. The energy consumption of air conditioning in base stations accounts for about 56%, and the biggest cost incurred by operators is not communication equipment maintenance or hiring maintenance personnel, but electricity bills.
The maintenance of mobile communication base stations requires attention to multiple aspects. Malfunctions caused by transmission issues are quite common. For example, although mobile communication belongs to wireless communication, it is actually a combination of wireless and wired communication. The physical connections between the mobile service switching center and the base station controller, as well as between the base station controller and the base station transceiver station, are implemented using standard PCM digital transmission. If the transmission is unstable with errors or code slippage, it may cause instability of all or part of the carrier frequency of the base station. When transmission errors accumulate to a certain extent and the base station cannot function properly, it can reload the IDB data through OMT in local mode and restore normal operation after resetting.
Malfunctions caused by base station software issues cannot be ignored. The software in the base station system commands and manages the orderly operation of various components of the base station. If the base station's IDB data does not match the base station's situation, the base station cannot function properly. For example, incorrect transmission mode settings may cause abnormal operation of the cell, but adjusting the transmission mode can restore normal operation of the base station.
The faults caused by the hardware of the base station are more obvious. Generally, the faulty hardware will light up its red FAULT light, but sometimes it cannot be confused by surface illusions. If a certain base station experiences a carrier frequency outage, it may be necessary to check the indicator lights and wiring of each module, measure whether the cabinet system voltage is normal, and replace the dust screen.
In addition, the maintenance of tower and mast components as support for communication transmission antennas is also important. After one year of installation, the verticality of the iron tower should be rechecked and calibrated. After calibration, the exposed anchor bolts should be poured with fine stone concrete to prevent corrosion of the anchor bolts. Mobile communication towers are generally inspected once every six months and once a year. In case of special circumstances, a comprehensive inspection should also be conducted. Each inspection should be carried out by a dedicated person with detailed records, and maintenance files should be established to promptly address any issues. The main contents of the inspection include structural deformation and foundation settlement.
The maintenance of mobile communication base stations also includes daily inspection work, which is carried out on time and according to the plan. The inspection scope includes the main equipment of the base station, AC distribution equipment, switch power supply, battery, air conditioning, power environment monitoring equipment, transmission equipment, antenna feeder system, and safety facilities in the computer room. The inspection items include working voltage, working current, whether there are alarms, operation status, equipment wiring status, environmental hygiene, and various safety hazards.
The maintenance cost of base stations also includes the cost of base station equipment, maintenance cost of computer rooms, operation and maintenance cost, electricity cost, human resource cost, short distance transportation cost, etc. The specific cost of maintaining communication base stations may vary depending on different regions, operators, and base station sizes, including equipment repair and maintenance, labor costs, and electricity bills.
With the development of technology, the main reason why operators are pursuing C-RAN technology is that it can greatly reduce the number of base station rooms through centralization, thereby reducing the energy consumption of supporting equipment (especially air conditioning) and lowering operating costs.
三、The impact of mobile communication towers on the surrounding environment
The construction of mobile communication towers not only provides convenient communication services for people, but also raises concerns about their impact on the surrounding environment.
（一）radiation problem
1. Some people believe that signal towers located close to residential areas may pose radiation hazards to surrounding residents, but after professional electromagnetic radiation monitoring, base stations that meet national standards will not have an impact on the health of nearby residents. Our country's electromagnetic environment standards are very strict, and the power density of communication frequency bands should be less than 40 microwatts per square centimeter, while the standard in the United States is less than 600 microwatts per square centimeter, so our base stations are safer.
2. Some also believe that mobile communication towers can have serious impacts on surrounding residents and children, such as disrupting natural physiological rhythms, increasing the incidence of cardiovascular diseases, and promoting the growth of cancer tissue. But these views lack scientific basis. Multiple experimental reports have proven that the currently used mobile communication frequency and power do not cause harm to the human body. In June 2006, WHO released a report on "Mobile Communications and Their Base Stations", which clearly stated: "No recent research has shown that exposure to radio frequency fields from mobile phones or base stations can cause harm to health." When 4G mobile base stations are working normally, the signal power radiated from their antenna ports does not exceed 5W; The power transmitted by 4G mobile phones shall not exceed 0.1W; The power of ordinary household living room lights is 40-60W. From the perspective of "thermal effect", the impact of mobile base stations on the human body is much smaller than that of a warm light at home.
（二）other effects
Some residents have complained about building mobile high-power signal towers near kindergartens in residential areas, believing that signal towers cannot be built in residential areas and will have a serious impact on surrounding residents and children. For example, in cases where illegal signal towers pose too much harm near kindergartens, model towers are built in densely populated areas and near kindergartens, and nearby residents unanimously demand their demolition. Residents in Dengfeng City, Zhengxiang District, and other areas have also raised doubts about the construction of mobile high-power signal towers near kindergartens in residential areas, fearing that it will have a serious impact on surrounding residents and children, such as disrupting the natural physiological rhythm of the human body, causing imbalances in the balance of the body, and leading to symptoms of neurasthenia such as headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and forgetfulness; Accelerate the human heart rate, increase or decrease blood pressure, and increase the incidence of cardiovascular diseases; Damage the deep tissues and organs of the human body, promote the growth of cancer tissue, and increase the incidence rate of cancer; Inducing menstrual cycle disorders in women; Causing miscarriage in pregnant women; Causing fetal malformation; Increase the incidence rate of cancer in children after birth; It is a triggering factor for leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors. But according to relevant regulations, whoever approves shall be supervised. The project should be approved by the Henan Provincial Environmental Protection Department, and local units have no enforcement power.
In fact, the impact of 5G base station construction on the ecological environment is minimal. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment has released the "5G Mobile Communication Base Station Electromagnetic Radiation Environmental Monitoring Method (Draft for Comments)" and solicited suggestions from the society. When building 5G base stations, Iron Tower Company will have a professional company to conduct environmental monitoring and assessment, and issue reports. Normal operations can only be carried out after obtaining permission from relevant departments. In order to achieve coverage, 5G base stations are often built in open and unobstructed areas, and have been verified and reviewed by national municipal departments, environmental impact assessment departments, and various expert groups. They have no impact on residents' production, life, travel, and other aspects. Although the transmission power of outdoor macro cellular base stations is relatively high, the measured value on the ground is generally less than 0.5 μ W/cm ², far below the standard requirement of the public exposure control limit of 40 μ W/cm ² in the national environmental quality standard "Electromagnetic Environment Control Limits" (GB8702-2014). Due to the very low antenna power, indoor microcellular base stations generally do not have electromagnetic radiation exceeding the standard within a range of 20 to 30 centimeters outside the indoor antenna.
四、Construction standards for mobile communication towers
The construction of mobile communication towers has strict standards to ensure their safe and stable operation as well as to meet communication needs.
1. Standard for placement of internal equipment in base stations
• New base station requirements: New base stations should meet the requirements of 2G and 3G shared stations, as well as meet the safety requirements of building load-bearing, reasonable placement of various equipment, and meet the requirements of wiring technology.
• Location of the base station feeder window: In principle, it should be fixed on the walls at both ends of the building in the longitudinal direction, with the lower edge 2.4m above the ground.
• Cable rack position: directly below the feeder window, with the lower edge 2400mm above the ground. If the building structure is limited, the cable tray can also be installed directly above the feeder window.
• Load bearing requirements: If the floor load is less than 500gg/M2, channel steel must be laid at the installation position of the main equipment and rectifier; The load-bearing capacity of the computer room is less than 1000Kg/M2, and the installation of batteries must be laid flat or installed overhead on load-bearing walls or beams using channel steel. The position of the main equipment channel steel is level with the outer edge of the cable rack; The battery channel steel must be installed on the load-bearing beam or load-bearing wall.
2. Types and process requirements of communication towers
• Communication tower type: The communication tower adopts an autonomous high-rise structure, which can be divided into angle steel tower, steel pipe tower, and single tube tower according to the cross-sectional form of its components.
◦ Angle steel tower: In general, it is advisable to use a folded line with a square horizontal cross-section and an approximate parabolic outer contour shape; When limited by the construction site, its horizontal cross-section can also be rectangular; The root opening size should not be less than 1/8 of the tower height.
◦ Steel pipe tower and steel pipe combination tower: It is advisable to use a triangular or quadrilateral shape, and the root opening size should not be less than 1/25 of the tower height.
◦ Single tube tower: generally made of hot-rolled seamless steel pipes or automatic rolled welded steel pipes, with a conical appearance and a height of less than 50 meters.
◦ In actual use, the horizontal displacement of the top of angle steel towers and steel tube towers shall not exceed 1/75 of the tower height, and the horizontal displacement of the top of single tube towers shall not exceed 1/40 of the tower height. Due to limitations in site conditions or other special requirements, the appearance and structure are not subject to the above restrictions, but must comply with relevant national technical specifications and regulations.
• Technical requirements for communication tower：
◦ The design and construction of communication towers should be closely coordinated with communication technology to meet its requirements. When determining the height of the tower and mast, the number of platforms, the specifications, quantity, and direction of the antennas, as well as the direction of the feeders, the possibility and convenience of expansion should be fully considered.
◦ The steel tower should be equipped with a maintenance platform at the height where the antenna is hung. The width of the platform should consider the spacing requirements of the antenna, and the net width should not be less than 600mm. The platform should be equipped with a 1.1m high railing; The fence should be firm and reliable, made of angle steel with specifications of 50mmX50mm X5mm or above, and the angle steel should be firmly connected to each other. When the height of the tower mast is greater than 50 meters, it is advisable to add a rest platform in the middle.
◦ The extension of the antenna bracket from the platform edge should not exceed 800mm. When it exceeds 800mm, the antenna bracket should be designed as a flexible and movable type.
◦ Climbing facilities leading to the top of the steel tower should be installed, and necessary safety protection should be considered; The step distance of climbing facilities should be 200-400mm, the width of the climbing ladder should not be less than 600mm, and the length of the climbing nail should not be less than 110mm. The ladder guardrail should be installed completely, and there should be no gaps in the middle except for the platform and tower section joints; For steel pipe tower ladders without guardrails, steel strands should be installed for fastening safety belts. The lower end of the ladder should be on the same plane as the outdoor horizontal cable rack.
◦ A feeder cable rack facing the machine room should be installed on the steel tower, and the spacing between the horizontal supports of the feeder rack from the machine room to the top antenna of the tower should be 500-1000mm.
◦ The steel tower should have complete anti direct lightning and secondary induction lightning devices. The grounding of the wall lightning strip must comply with the design and relevant specifications. Both the lightning rod and the feeder frame should be equipped with dedicated lightning current down conductors, made of 40mm × 4mm galvanized flat steel, which are respectively led down to the tower grounding grid and firmly fixed to the tower body, and welded to each other. Reliable anti rust and anti-corrosion measures should be taken at the welding site.
◦ The lightning protection and grounding system, including lightning rods, lightning current down conductors, grounding grids, etc., must be installed in accordance with the design specifications for lightning protection and grounding of communication base stations of the Ministry of Information Industry. All four tower legs must be grounded with a grounding resistance of less than 5 ohms.
五、The future development trend of mobile communication towers
1. The market size continues to grow
With the popularization of mobile Internet and the rapid development of 5G technology, the market demand for mobile communication base stations has increased sharply. At present, the total number of mobile communication base stations in China has exceeded a certain scale, among which the number of 5G base stations has significantly increased and the proportion continues to rise. The three major telecom operators in China continue to invest in the construction of mobile communication base stations, promoting the dual improvement of the number and quality of base stations. Meanwhile, with the development of emerging applications such as the Internet of Things and the Internet of Vehicles, the demand for mobile communication base stations will further increase, providing strong support for the expansion of the market size. It is expected that the mobile communication base station market will continue to maintain a high growth rate in the coming years.
2. Continuous technological upgrades
The continued popularization of 5G technology will drive further growth in the number of base stations and encourage the development of base station equipment towards higher speed, lower latency, and larger capacity. At the same time, the research and development of future communication technologies such as 6G will bring new technological challenges and opportunities to the base station industry, promoting the continuous upgrading and replacement of base station equipment. The large-scale deployment of 5G networks has made the miniaturization, intelligence, and multi frequency and multi model of base stations mainstream. The application of new technologies such as cloud based RAN and Massive MIMO has improved network capacity and coverage quality. Mobile communication base stations for the 6G era will deeply integrate AI technology to achieve intelligent operation and dynamic resource scheduling, and improve network efficiency. The hardware architecture of base stations will tend towards modularity and reconfigurability to adapt to the constantly evolving wireless communication standards and technological innovations. In addition, the development of millimeter wave and terahertz communication technologies will promote the miniaturization and intensive deployment of base station antenna systems, while also generating more market demand for indoor micro base stations and distributed base stations.
3. Intelligent and automated upgrades
Intelligence will become an important trend in the construction and management of base stations. By introducing advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and big data, remote monitoring, intelligent operation and maintenance, and fault prediction of base station equipment can be achieved, improving operation and maintenance efficiency and reducing operating costs. At the same time, the popularization of automated installation and debugging technology will also shorten the construction period of base stations and improve construction quality. High tech emerging intelligent IoT gateway products can achieve telemetry, remote signaling, remote adjustment and remote control of various power equipment, environmental monitoring equipment, security monitoring equipment and other related parameters distributed in various base stations/computer rooms. They can monitor their operating parameters in real time, record and analyze relevant data, diagnose and handle faults, timely notify personnel for handling, and achieve unmanned operation of the computer room with few people. The intelligent operation and maintenance scheme of Touch Infinite Communication Base Station aims at the automatic remote management and operation and maintenance development of the operator's base station. Through lightweight edge computing equipment, access to multiple types of sensors in the base station, real-time analysis and response, and solve the pain points of extensive on-site patrol management, long cycle, and high cost for maintenance personnel. China Tower has developed its own system platform and terminal equipment, combined with pilot and large-scale applications, to form an intelligent maintenance technology solution that fits the actual situation of the tower in the "end edge cloud" mode. It has built a system platform based on video Internet of Things and AI algorithms, completed the independent control of edge gateway core technology, and achieved the full process integration of intelligent inspection, intelligent entry and exit, intelligent asset management and other applications.
4. Greening and Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction
With the increasing awareness of environmental protection, greening has become an important direction for the development of the base station industry. Base station equipment will pay more attention to energy efficiency, adopting low-power and high-efficiency hardware design, and combining intelligent scheduling algorithms to optimize energy use. In addition, green energy sources such as solar and wind power will also be more widely applied to power base stations, reducing reliance on traditional energy sources. China Tower adheres to innovation leadership and continues to increase investment in green and low-carbon technology research and development. It has developed multiple high-efficiency and energy-saving innovative products, including modular power supplies, minimalist outdoor power supplies, base station specific air conditioners, dual cooling source air conditioners, and air conditioning controllers. At the same time, we actively promote the refined management of energy consumption in base station air conditioning, implement intelligent transformation of wall mounted and cabinet air conditioning throughout the network, independently develop AI energy-saving algorithms, and achieve energy conservation through the implementation of refined control of air conditioning energy consumption. Shandong Mobile Weihai Branch actively promotes the construction of photovoltaic base stations, converting solar energy into electrical energy, achieving safe and stable power supply of solar energy, AC power supply, and batteries for the base stations, saving the electricity costs of the base stations themselves, and reducing carbon emissions. China Mobile Ezhou Branch has launched a staggered energy-saving pilot project at four base stations in Tangjiao and other areas, installing staggered energy storage systems. Based on the management of battery packs, combined with peak and valley electricity prices, the power load is adjusted to save electricity costs. It can also automatically and seamlessly switch to backup power mode during power outages.
5. Miniaturization and intensive deployment
To cope with the complex urban environment and high-density user demands, base station equipment will develop towards miniaturization and lightweighting, and new types of base station equipment such as micro base stations and skin base stations will gradually become popular. At the same time, in order to improve the quality and capacity of network coverage, base stations will adopt a more dense deployment method, forming a multi-level and three-dimensional network architecture. 4G miniaturized base stations refer to the deployment of multiple micro base stations with smaller coverage areas in urban or densely populated areas, which can effectively reduce network pressure, enhance network coverage and data transmission speed while maintaining stable call quality. Therefore, they are widely used in urban areas, commercial districts, office buildings, public places and other areas.
6. The integration and application of the Internet of Things and big data
With the rapid development of IoT technology, base stations will not only be wireless signal transmission and reception devices, but also carry more IoT functions. By integrating technologies such as big data and cloud computing, base stations will achieve more accurate user behavior analysis, network traffic scheduling, and business innovation, providing users with a more intelligent and convenient communication experience. The future mobile communication base station industry will present development trends such as the widespread application of 5G and future technologies, intelligent and automated upgrades, green and energy-saving emission reduction, miniaturization and intensive deployment, as well as the integration of IoT and big data applications. These trends will jointly drive the base station industry towards higher quality, higher efficiency, and more sustainable development.
六、The role of mobile communication towers
1. Provide wireless signal coverage
One of the main functions of mobile communication base stations is to provide wide area wireless signal coverage. The antenna in the base station achieves wireless signal coverage for user devices by transmitting and receiving wireless signals. This is like an intangible network that tightly connects users with the outside world. For example, in various corners of the city, people can use their mobile phones to make calls, access the internet, and perform other operations anytime and anywhere, thanks to the signal coverage of mobile communication base stations.
2. Signal conversion
The base station converts the signals sent by the user equipment into electrical signals that can be transmitted through wireless transmission devices, and converts the received electrical signals into wireless signals that the user equipment can understand. Like a signal relay station, it ensures smooth transmission of information between user devices and communication networks. Taking mobile phones as an example, when we make phone calls or send text messages, the wireless signal sent by the phone is received by the base station, converted and processed, and then transmitted to the target device or network.
3. Data transmission
The base station is responsible for handling data transmission between user devices. When communication is required between user devices, the base station transmits data streams from one user device to another. In modern society, people's demand for data transmission is increasing. Whether browsing web pages, watching videos, or downloading files, the data transmission function of base stations is indispensable. For example, when using video conferencing software, the base station can quickly and stably transmit audio and video data from all parties, ensuring the smooth progress of the conference.
4. management and control
Mobile communication base stations manage and control the operation of base stations through base station controllers. The base station controller is responsible for managing the allocation and scheduling of wireless resources, controlling the working status of the base station, and coordinating and interacting with the core network. It is like the "brain" of the base station, coordinating and arranging various tasks to ensure the efficient and stable operation of the base station. For example, when the number of users in a certain area suddenly increases, the base station controller can adjust the allocation of wireless resources in a timely manner to improve the service capability of the base station.
5. Support mobile services and services
Through mobile communication base stations, users can use various mobile services and services, such as voice calls, SMS, data transmission, etc. The base station provides a connection point between users and other users, the Internet and other services, enabling users to enjoy the convenience brought by various mobile communication applications. With the continuous development of technology, new mobile services and services continue to emerge, such as mobile payments, smart home control, etc., all of which rely on the support of mobile communication base stations.
