| Exhibits
1, 2 and 3 are samples of traditional towers. Exhibit 1 is an
actual photograph of a 400' tower, fortunately in another state,
approximately 90 feet from the neighbor's patio. |
click image for a larger view |
| Exhibit
2 is a photosimulation; prepared by Sprint Spectrum, of the
100-foot lattice tower they wanted to place in a developed residential
neighborhood in Medina. Of course, that application was turned
down. |
click image for a larger view |
| Exhibit
3 is a photosimulation that a siting agency prepared for an
industry sponsored workshop while Medina was preparing to issue
new regulations. The Walter Group touted this plan since it
allowed for collocation of 3 carriers at the Saint Thomas Church
parking lot. They really believed that the monopole with three
sectors of panel antennas at the top would blend into the scenery
so well that no one would object. |
click image for a larger view |
| Exhibit
4 is a photograph of an existing Sprint facility in Clyde Hill.
It uses "stealth technology" by being disguised as a telephone
pole. As you drive by, assuming you did not know what you were
looking at, you might not notice any difference from the pole
it replaced. |
click image for a larger view |
| Exhibit
5 is a photograph of the underground equipment vault that Clyde
Hill insisted on at the site shown in Exhibit 4. The industry
told Medina they could not do this because of the high water
table. Some providers still claim they cannot go underground
with their support equipment, especially the air conditioning,
but that is now a pretty hard sale. |
click image for a larger view |
| Exhibit
6 is a Sprint antenna disguised as a street pole, holding a
4-way blinking light at an intersection shared by Clyde Hill
and Medina. It matches the other poles in the intersection and
many people are surprised when they first learn that it is a
wireless antenna. The antenna at the top of the pole is what
is called a tubular panel or cross-polarized antenna. It replaces
the "top hat" of three sectors of panel antennas shown in exhibits
2 and 3. It is approximately 18 inches in diameter and less
than 6 feet tall. |
click
image for a larger view |
| Exhibit
7 shows two facilities that were permitted by Medina in the
Saint Thomas Church parking lot. Fortunately they are difficult
to see. Directly behind the white car is a 50 foot whip antenna
installed by AirTouch, a cellular provider. In the foreground
is a 35 foot tubular panel antenna installed by GTE, a PCS provider.
Both are painted a dark bronze to blend in with the poplar trees
in the background. Note that they are well below the height
of the poplars. GTE originally asked for a variance so its facility
could also reach 50 feet to match the Airtouch facility. When
GTE candidly stated that it would have the same service capacity
at 35 feet as at 50 feet, the variance was denied. Please note
the wooden fence on the left-hand side of the photograph. This
was to conceal the ground equipment cabinets required for antenna
sites and to partially muffle the noise from the generators
and air conditioning units. |
click
image for a larger view
|
| Exhibit
8 is a photosimulation of the "Three Sectored Susan" flagpole.
It allows three providers to collocate and use stealth technology
at the same time. Note that there is little or no separation
between the tubular panel antennas at the top of the pole. Representatives
from several companies I spoke with said the purported need
for up to 20 feet of separation is an industry myth promulgated
by the antenna providers who do not want to engage in the "fine
tuning" which allows these antenna to be placed in very close
proximity. |
click
image for a larger view |
| Exhibit
9 consists of photographs of a wireless antenna developed by
Nokia. It is a completely self-contained PCS sending and receiving
station. All it needs is to be plugged into a 120-volt power
supply and a telephone line and it is ready to go. It can be
placed on the side of an existing building or on a telephone
pole. It is smaller than many pole-mounted electrical transformers,
approximately 26 inches high, 16 inches wide and 6 inches deep.
It can be 30 feet in the air or only a few feet above the ground.
It covers an area of 1 to 2 miles in circumference. It needs
no equipment enclosures and should generate little, if any noise.
Similar equipment is available for each of the various technologies
used by the industry (GSM, TDMA, CDMA). |
click
image for a larger view |
| Exhibits
10 and 11 are photographs of two minicell sites on Island Crest
Way in the city of Mercer Island. These antennas were installed
by Airtouch and AT&T Wireless, both cellular providers. Like
most of my favorite antenna sites, it is difficult to see the
antennas through the tree coverage. These antenna do require
equipment cabinets on the ground. |
click
image for a larger view |
Will minicells eliminate the need for other antennas? Not unless
local jurisdictions require it. There are many reasons why the industry
does not wish to use them individually. A few that I am aware of
are:
1. It is easier, cheaper and quicker to build a smaller number
of tall towers than to put in a greater number of minicells.
2. One knowledgeable source believes that some of the carriers
are beholden to antenna manufacturers who have large stockpiles
of what could soon become outmoded antennas. These providers do
not want to move to state of the art technology until the stockpiles
have been reduced.
3. The providers will argue that minicells are too expensive.
4. Some minicells may be more difficult to maintain. Because
the self-contained units do not have equipment cabinets on the
ground, a boom truck is necessary to check or service those antennas
which are mounted any distance in the air. Even when it is in
use everywhere, the minicell will not solve everyone's concerns.
Those who worry about the health effects of radio frequency emissions
will still not be happy, even though the minicells should produce
a much lower level of radio frequency emissions. For those concerned
about health effects, a substantial setback requirement from residential
areas may be the only answer.
