I am interested to see that the rising cost of power has become a political issue here in Australia as the government desperately try and separate the rising prices of electricity that are due to the cost of "post and wire" renewals and that which the carbon tax is going to cause (actually the carbon tax impact is minimal just now but may rise in the future as subsidies fade out). Interesting to see just how much power has gone up recently and I would really like you to look at your networks power bill now and compare it to what you were paying 5 years ago - with more pain yet to come
In one of my recent blogs I went over some of this: http://telcotom.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/rising-cost-of-power-one-of-subjects.html - while I would like to claim it was my blog that started all this political uproar I think thats over inflating my readership just a bit!!
What is clear though is that one thing this political bun fight will not do is turn back the tide of rising electricity costs - so wireless and mobile operators here are still faced with rising power costs at a time they are trying to reduce costs. Thats why it makes even more sense to deploy energy saving technology right now - the longer you wait the more money is getting burnt.
Our business partners in this sector, Orun Energy have just posted some fantastic results from case studies - not results from a lab but real sites, single and multi operator sites and the power cost savings are impressive - see : http://orunenergy.com/case_studies.html . Bear in mind for suitable customers we can retrofit your network at no CAPEX cost to you and it becomes compelling.
As I concluded my previous blog if there was a way of installing a network wide solution that not only made the sites more efficient but reduced their power consumption drastically (over 80% certified on diesel sites) and that solution came at no cost in capex - then wouldn't you as a wireless or mobile network operator want to deploy it?
In actual fact the question really is: "faced with rising power costs can you really afford not to deploy it?"
Saturday 11 August 2012
Coming attractions...
There are yet more signs of on-line retailers affecting bricks and mortar retailers here in Australia - in reality this is to be expected as a sign of the times - but it is interesting to note that few, if any shopping centre owners or major retailers are doing much to engage with the customer where it matters - in the shop.
That's where the battle line is drawn and where the war of customer engagement and shopper experience will be fought.
Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Facebook hits are great but wouldn't real time engagement with shoppers be much, much more useful? Imagine if that engagement enhanced their shopping experience as well.
Watch this space - something great is coming...
That's where the battle line is drawn and where the war of customer engagement and shopper experience will be fought.
Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and Facebook hits are great but wouldn't real time engagement with shoppers be much, much more useful? Imagine if that engagement enhanced their shopping experience as well.
Watch this space - something great is coming...
Thursday 14 June 2012
The rising cost of electricity
Hi Everyone,
One of the subjects close to me at the moment is the high price of electricity and its impact on wireless and mobile networks here in Australia and around the world. Here, years of deferred spending on upgrading electricity networks has reached the point that now many tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of distribution poles and endless kilometres of wire need to be installed and transmission networks need upgrading as well. This will not happen overnight and while smart networks will certainly help with load management it is a simple fact that huge spending is required and guess who will be invited to pay for it - that's right - the consumers.
Here is a press article on this: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/electricity-bills-to-go-up-again--by-21-per-cent-in-the-city-20120613-20957.html which confirms that this is happening now - over 20% in electricity price rises now and more pain to come.
Now while I could spout forth here about the many fine qualities of GeoStrut carbon fibre poles and monopoles and how they could be used to great effect to dramatically reduce the capital costs of these required pole and tower works this blog is actually about power. (Hey but if anyone in the Australian powerline industry reads this feel free to call us!!!)
In the wireless arena for small operators right through to major mobile operators, electricity has become a major operational expense - a mains connected site in the middle of Sydney with power costs increasing at 25% before the carbon tax comes in is as big a cost headache as a non mains connected site in India running on diesel or solar combo. As it becomes vital for operators to squeeze every last cent/ rupee/pence out of the network operational costs to deal with ultra competitive call/data tarrifs and increasing profit distress then electrical consumption needs to be placed firmly under the microscope.
There is a lot of solar, hydrogen and semi hybrid solutions out there - most of which have been designed as a solution for remote sites running on diesel but they mostly are a fix for only part of the problem also - and this is truly the biggest issue of them all- they require a huge amounts of capital expenditure to deploy - thus further straining the bottom line of operators.
So how to solve this issue in the manner that works for the wireless and mobile operators as well as the equipment provider? Well let me just ask this - if there was a way of installing a network wide solution that not only made the sites more efficient but reduced their power consumption drastically (over 80% certified on diesel sites) and that solution came at no cost in capex - then wouldn't you as a wireless or mobile network operator want to deploy it?
In actual fact the question really is: "faced with rising power costs can you afford not to deploy it?"
One of the subjects close to me at the moment is the high price of electricity and its impact on wireless and mobile networks here in Australia and around the world. Here, years of deferred spending on upgrading electricity networks has reached the point that now many tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of distribution poles and endless kilometres of wire need to be installed and transmission networks need upgrading as well. This will not happen overnight and while smart networks will certainly help with load management it is a simple fact that huge spending is required and guess who will be invited to pay for it - that's right - the consumers.
Here is a press article on this: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/electricity-bills-to-go-up-again--by-21-per-cent-in-the-city-20120613-20957.html which confirms that this is happening now - over 20% in electricity price rises now and more pain to come.
Now while I could spout forth here about the many fine qualities of GeoStrut carbon fibre poles and monopoles and how they could be used to great effect to dramatically reduce the capital costs of these required pole and tower works this blog is actually about power. (Hey but if anyone in the Australian powerline industry reads this feel free to call us!!!)
In the wireless arena for small operators right through to major mobile operators, electricity has become a major operational expense - a mains connected site in the middle of Sydney with power costs increasing at 25% before the carbon tax comes in is as big a cost headache as a non mains connected site in India running on diesel or solar combo. As it becomes vital for operators to squeeze every last cent/ rupee/pence out of the network operational costs to deal with ultra competitive call/data tarrifs and increasing profit distress then electrical consumption needs to be placed firmly under the microscope.
There is a lot of solar, hydrogen and semi hybrid solutions out there - most of which have been designed as a solution for remote sites running on diesel but they mostly are a fix for only part of the problem also - and this is truly the biggest issue of them all- they require a huge amounts of capital expenditure to deploy - thus further straining the bottom line of operators.
So how to solve this issue in the manner that works for the wireless and mobile operators as well as the equipment provider? Well let me just ask this - if there was a way of installing a network wide solution that not only made the sites more efficient but reduced their power consumption drastically (over 80% certified on diesel sites) and that solution came at no cost in capex - then wouldn't you as a wireless or mobile network operator want to deploy it?
In actual fact the question really is: "faced with rising power costs can you afford not to deploy it?"
Sunday 1 April 2012
Temporary and not so temporary sites ideal for new networks, network expansions, construction sites, mining, special events, emergencies...- a never ending list
Temporary sites are a complex issue, be they for mobile (cell) networks or other wireless applications and I thought that I would try and set some clarity round them in this blog.
The first point is that temporary sites are just as likely to not be on a trailer as they are to be on one – Cell on Wheels or Site on Wheels (COW/SOW) is very much the norm for temporary sites in some areas and for some applications they are ideal but in other situations they need not be trailer mounted. The good thing about COW’s is that they have everything in an immediately deployable format – power, tower and base station. Ironically that can make it a bad thing as often an equipment failure in the base station or power generator requires the whole site to be demobilised and taken back to workshop for repairs. It depends on how long the service will be required to run from that site – if it’s for a special event like a festival or an unexpected disaster then a wheeled option is probably a good idea. Town planning is generally the same for wheeled or un-wheeled temporary sites.
What about circumstances where coverage will be required for a longer period but not permanently – and it is probably worth mentioning these circumstances in a bit more detail. Take the construction industry and particularly major infrastructure projects. These will put a lot of people in a concentrated area at one time and there will be large data needs as drawings and specifications are all issued electronically these days. To cope with this bandwidth demand there has just been "ad-hoc" solutions including fibre to the site (expensive) and hoping the mobile coverage is good enough. What is a better approach is to build a dedicated wireless site that does broadband and mobile communications for the site.
Mining is similar but tends to be in existence for a lot longer than most construction projects and, as mine automation increases, there is a need for more quality wireless services in and around mine sites to allow autonomous and remote control of plant. The tower and base station sites that provide this need to be in a location for a while but also need to be adaptable to relocate easily to suit the mines growing needs.
Another area where temporary sites are great is in achieving quick area coverage – temporary sites providing area coverage until the permanent site is brought on line – and it’s also a good way of testing a new technology or a network without doing a full build. Mind you I do know of at least one “temporary” site in London that is still transmitting more than 15 years after it was installed!
So what is the answer – well for short term deployments a COW/SOW is a really good idea – easy to get there and set up and service for only a few weeks – anything more than that in terms of time and you really need to look at alternative solutions – in the old days this used to mean tonnes of steel grillage and a small lattice tower with a big clunky generator running 24/7 – however the good news – and it is good news in terms of ease and speed of deployment – is that with modern materials such as GeoStrut carbon fibre telescoping towers and our unique foundation system you can erect a 20m tower with a tri sectored site and microwave link in no time at all. Combine this with a really effective (and network proven) hybrid power system and a quite genset is only running a couple of hours a day and saving over 80% in fuel and servicing over one running the same time. Clearly these are really powerful and intelligent solutions.
Finally – on the power front you may be able to get a friendly neighbour to allow the site to be plugged into their supply for a small fee – but here is a tale of caution. As a young project manager working in the UK I did this for a temporary site I had build in North Wales – I was feeling very smug as I had the site up on air a week early – however we kept getting an intermittent power fail on the site. Several times we sent technicians out and the mystery fault could not be found. One of our more engaging technicians was there on a cold day and was invited in to the neighbours kitchen for tea and toast and saw “our” precious power cord being unplugged to allow the toaster to be plugged in – mystery solved!!!!
Friday 16 March 2012
Well played Ninjas...
I heard a really good joke recently that went like this:
"I looked up Ninjas on Thesaurus.com - the computer told me Ninjas could not be found - well played Ninjas, very well played..."
It made me think about how we are building wireless and telco sites and I suddenly realised that we have drifted away from the skill sets that used to be in site acquisition and design 10 years ago when sites were built with a bit more consideration and thought about how they would look - and we have sadly gone back to the mantra of "speed is king" in network roll-outs. Fast deployments are important but its project management 101 - a three legged stool of time, cost and quality - cut one leg and the stool falls over and that's what is happening here in Australia right now. We may have technical quality but if sites are getting refused on visual impact then environmental quality has left the building and that stool is wobbling or falling - impacting time and cost - (delays in town planning - having to find new sites - additional acquisition and design fees - and lost income from not getting a site on air where one is needed)
I read a press article today about how the Council for the town of Buninyong, near Ballarat had rejected an application to build a 40 metre tower because of the "unacceptable visual impact" - now it is difficult to get true public opinion out a press article but there it was - this was not about EME concerns, this was not NIMBY's this was a tower that was turned down because of visual impact. Rather concerning this tower was intended for the NBN wireless roll-out - so ultimately a government agency - surely they must have high visual standards one would think? Similar stories abound in rural areas such at Tamworth - this time again for NBN, in WA this time for Telstra, Optus has one just up the road from me - every operator has at least one and some have many many more.
And what happens in urban areas is just as bad - almost without fail when objections first start about a site it is not about EME or health or house values or noise or any other of the issues that get whipped up - no - the initial objections time after time after time are about the visual aspects - and I am not surprised because some rooftop sites look frankly horrible and they wouldn't be on my roof for sure!!
Now I know that some in the industry will say I am just plugging "Stealth " products because my company is the Australian agent for them (see http://www.entirenetworksolutions.com/infrastructure-solutions/stealth-products/) - well yes I am their agent - but here's the thing - I am their agent because I see ugly sites every day that should not be there, I see inappropriate sized towers build in view lines every day that should not be there. Above all though, most sites do not need a Stealth solution - set the antennas back a couple of metres from the roof edge - go for a lighter duty monopole that is thinner and - here's an idea - pop it into trees at just above the tree line not 20m above the treeline - if you do that then when you have an architecturally challenging site or a landowner that insists on it - well then come and speak to me about a Stealth solution because that's when you need a camouflaged solution.
As an industry we need to look at our legacy - we have a great responsibility to roll-out high speed high capacity wireless data and voice networks world wide - but where does it say they have to be horrible to look at and ruin the look of buildings to achieve it.
Lets get smarter at choosing, designing and building sites with some sympathy to the environment they are in and also with consideration for the people who live with the visual impact of sites. Sounds like Telcotom has gone soft? - well here's another thing for everyone in an operator to think about - everyone that can see that ugly site is a potential customer - everyone who protests about that site is almost certainly a customer lost - and imagine if one of your competitors was building sites with just a little more thought and didn't run into visual impact problems, didn't have councils rejecting sites for "unacceptable visual impact" - where do you think those customers churn over to....
So here's a takeaway for you - the next time you send a brief out for a new site, or if you are the one looking for, designing or building a new site - remember the Ninja joke and make your site so it cant be found.
Well played Ninjas, very well played...
"I looked up Ninjas on Thesaurus.com - the computer told me Ninjas could not be found - well played Ninjas, very well played..."
It made me think about how we are building wireless and telco sites and I suddenly realised that we have drifted away from the skill sets that used to be in site acquisition and design 10 years ago when sites were built with a bit more consideration and thought about how they would look - and we have sadly gone back to the mantra of "speed is king" in network roll-outs. Fast deployments are important but its project management 101 - a three legged stool of time, cost and quality - cut one leg and the stool falls over and that's what is happening here in Australia right now. We may have technical quality but if sites are getting refused on visual impact then environmental quality has left the building and that stool is wobbling or falling - impacting time and cost - (delays in town planning - having to find new sites - additional acquisition and design fees - and lost income from not getting a site on air where one is needed)
I read a press article today about how the Council for the town of Buninyong, near Ballarat had rejected an application to build a 40 metre tower because of the "unacceptable visual impact" - now it is difficult to get true public opinion out a press article but there it was - this was not about EME concerns, this was not NIMBY's this was a tower that was turned down because of visual impact. Rather concerning this tower was intended for the NBN wireless roll-out - so ultimately a government agency - surely they must have high visual standards one would think? Similar stories abound in rural areas such at Tamworth - this time again for NBN, in WA this time for Telstra, Optus has one just up the road from me - every operator has at least one and some have many many more.
And what happens in urban areas is just as bad - almost without fail when objections first start about a site it is not about EME or health or house values or noise or any other of the issues that get whipped up - no - the initial objections time after time after time are about the visual aspects - and I am not surprised because some rooftop sites look frankly horrible and they wouldn't be on my roof for sure!!
Now I know that some in the industry will say I am just plugging "Stealth " products because my company is the Australian agent for them (see http://www.entirenetworksolutions.com/infrastructure-solutions/stealth-products/) - well yes I am their agent - but here's the thing - I am their agent because I see ugly sites every day that should not be there, I see inappropriate sized towers build in view lines every day that should not be there. Above all though, most sites do not need a Stealth solution - set the antennas back a couple of metres from the roof edge - go for a lighter duty monopole that is thinner and - here's an idea - pop it into trees at just above the tree line not 20m above the treeline - if you do that then when you have an architecturally challenging site or a landowner that insists on it - well then come and speak to me about a Stealth solution because that's when you need a camouflaged solution.
As an industry we need to look at our legacy - we have a great responsibility to roll-out high speed high capacity wireless data and voice networks world wide - but where does it say they have to be horrible to look at and ruin the look of buildings to achieve it.
Lets get smarter at choosing, designing and building sites with some sympathy to the environment they are in and also with consideration for the people who live with the visual impact of sites. Sounds like Telcotom has gone soft? - well here's another thing for everyone in an operator to think about - everyone that can see that ugly site is a potential customer - everyone who protests about that site is almost certainly a customer lost - and imagine if one of your competitors was building sites with just a little more thought and didn't run into visual impact problems, didn't have councils rejecting sites for "unacceptable visual impact" - where do you think those customers churn over to....
So here's a takeaway for you - the next time you send a brief out for a new site, or if you are the one looking for, designing or building a new site - remember the Ninja joke and make your site so it cant be found.
Well played Ninjas, very well played...
Friday 6 January 2012
The Year Ahead
Firstly I wish you all a happy and prosperous new year - this is the time of year when all manner of predictions are made for the year ahead - and I often wonder how many of these are checked out at the end of the year....
Anyway - I'm not going to make any fanciful predictions here because I have enough sense to know that things can change - however one thing is clear and that is the ongoing growth of wireless networks - be they for conventional mobile, mobile broadband and so on we will undoubtably see more and more wireless in the world. This will put huge demands onto spectrum and network capacities and there will be ongoing new site builds and existing site upgrades as the existing networks start to creak and groan at the seams with the ammount of data being transmitted and as new networks are rolled out.
So what is needed in the coming year - I see a couple of things coming up:
Networks will need sites that can be build ecconomically and offer savings in capex - this means a complete rethink on current site designs and layouts and use of materials. The use of items like GeoStrut carbon fibre monopoles and rooftop stub towers offer such an opportunity in cost and time saving - same strengths as steel but at about 10% of the weight makes the advantages obvious. Hybrid power systems will also start to gain ground once network operators realise that its not just a "green" thing - it actually saves opex $ as well.
In an effort to save the networks from overloads I also think we will see things like the rise of WiFi data off-loads - particularly in retail environments where there is growing WiFi coverage and heavy mobile data demand. In city areas we will also see more and more outdoor DAS systems come on line (watch Crown Castle in the US for this - quiet - and astute -achievers in this market at the moment). We will also see more refarming of the older GSM spectrums to allow LTE roll-outs - interesting just now here in Australia as many of these original spectrum licences are coming up for renewal - no doubt some tense negotiations with the government agencies will result.
Finally I think as more and more new or upgraded sites are needed, even with smaller equipment, there is going to be more and more need for sites to be better blended to their surroundings. I dont think we will see a rush on palm tree sites but more "Stealth" type screening on rooftop sites where parapet extensions to exactly match the building and so on will be required - either by town planning restrictions or just as a means of getting sites in certain areas.
Whatever the new year brings I hope it is a peaceful and happy one for you and your family
Anyway - I'm not going to make any fanciful predictions here because I have enough sense to know that things can change - however one thing is clear and that is the ongoing growth of wireless networks - be they for conventional mobile, mobile broadband and so on we will undoubtably see more and more wireless in the world. This will put huge demands onto spectrum and network capacities and there will be ongoing new site builds and existing site upgrades as the existing networks start to creak and groan at the seams with the ammount of data being transmitted and as new networks are rolled out.
So what is needed in the coming year - I see a couple of things coming up:
Networks will need sites that can be build ecconomically and offer savings in capex - this means a complete rethink on current site designs and layouts and use of materials. The use of items like GeoStrut carbon fibre monopoles and rooftop stub towers offer such an opportunity in cost and time saving - same strengths as steel but at about 10% of the weight makes the advantages obvious. Hybrid power systems will also start to gain ground once network operators realise that its not just a "green" thing - it actually saves opex $ as well.
In an effort to save the networks from overloads I also think we will see things like the rise of WiFi data off-loads - particularly in retail environments where there is growing WiFi coverage and heavy mobile data demand. In city areas we will also see more and more outdoor DAS systems come on line (watch Crown Castle in the US for this - quiet - and astute -achievers in this market at the moment). We will also see more refarming of the older GSM spectrums to allow LTE roll-outs - interesting just now here in Australia as many of these original spectrum licences are coming up for renewal - no doubt some tense negotiations with the government agencies will result.
Finally I think as more and more new or upgraded sites are needed, even with smaller equipment, there is going to be more and more need for sites to be better blended to their surroundings. I dont think we will see a rush on palm tree sites but more "Stealth" type screening on rooftop sites where parapet extensions to exactly match the building and so on will be required - either by town planning restrictions or just as a means of getting sites in certain areas.
Whatever the new year brings I hope it is a peaceful and happy one for you and your family
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