Closing the as-planned/as-built divide in tower deployment

In wireless infrastructure, there has longe existed a challenge has been the gap between the designs engineers produce and what is installed on site. Plans are drawn with precise expectations as to antenna height, tilt, azimuth, and orientation. But when contractors reach the tower, the real-world results can depend on prevailing conditions. Old or undocumented mounts, legacy equipment, incomplete records, and human error all change the quality of execution.

Until recently, the industry largely accepted these mismatches, even factoring in the costs inherent in the status quo. But the stringent requirements of 5G and fixed wireless access (FWA) mean that cost tolerance is shrinking. Even a slight change in height or a few degrees of tilt can undermine coverage or introduce interference, and companies are less willing to swallow the extra costs of site revisits to correct any issues.

The cost

In the majority of cases, there is no neutral, verified record of what is installed at a tower site, only often-conflicting drawings, photos or notes made by engineers. Industry observers consider the mismatch between intent and reality as a structural vulnerability in tower upgrades. Delays can stall the rollout of new services, reduce network reliability, and increase long-term maintenance costs.

And as 5G relies on advanced antenna systems — such as multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) and beam-forming arrays — precise installation becomes more important. System performance depends heavily on antenna placement, orientation and alignment [PDF] relative to other elements.

Digital inspections, drone surveys, and digital twins

Emerging solutions in digital inspection and site validation offer a more robust alternative, and is the subject of a product announcement by vHive.

Before any upgrade begins, it provides a pre-construction survey of an existing tower using a drone, capturing the as-is state of the structure. From that survey, a digital twin or a detailed engineering model is built. This then can become the foundation for the operator’s upgrade plan: it defines exactly which antennas, structure or equipment should be added, replaced or removed.

Real-time on-site validation

After contractors mount equipment (antennas, cables or radios), a follow-up drone inspection captures the new configuration. Directed by the previous engineering model, the drone can re-visit the precise points needed to validate equipment position, height, orientation, and so on.

Engineers can use augmented-reality overlays, and the system compares the design (as planned) with the real installation (as built). Any discrepancies are apparent visually, and contractors can correct them on the spot, repeating the survey until intent matches reality.

Once the facility is given the all-clear, operators can get a validation report that documents the as-built state, which can become a reference for site acceptance, and form the basis for integration and billing, rather than post-hoc inspections by any party.

Precision now matters more

New antenna systems using MIMO or advanced array technologies deliver high throughput and low latency, especially in urban environments. As operators create dense networks through “small cells”, distributed antenna systems or rooftop cells, the volume and complexity of installations increase, raising the chances, and costs, of error.

Business implications for stakeholders

Contractors and installation teams could see an immediate lowering of costs incurred at each site. Operators (MNOs) get assurance that sites will perform as planned from day one, so should experience fewer delays to launch, little or no hit on initial performance (coverage, capacity, throughput), and lower risk of problems in integration operations.

Tower owners get a shared and open record of exactly what was installed, reducing the number of any dispute over tenancy, billing or equipment placement.

Conclusion

What was once “good enough” — installing roughly according to plan, with manual inspection — can be improved. Combining drone surveys, digital twin models, and canonical on-site validation are significant steps to improve the network ecosystem.

For decision-makers overseeing network rollout, infrastructure investment or tower portfolio management, there is a path open to more dependable and predictable deployments, and, ultimately, better business outcomes.

(Image source: “Cellphone tower” by Adam Freidin is licensed under CC BY 2.0.)

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Tags: 5G, antenna, ar, drones, infrastructure, mimo, towers