Mobile operator Vodafone has recently begun to introduce a new space-saving “Quad Stack” design of 5G mast across parts of Greater London, which is not only intended to help improve mobile broadband speeds but could also contribute to actually reducing the number of masts and the number of street-level equipment cabinets in some areas.
Let’s face it, mobile masts aren’t exactly the most popular items of street furniture these days, particularly when it comes to those larger towers that are more typically found in remote rural areas. But in urban locations, it often makes sense to use more compact and discreet monopoles, particularly with so many big buildings around (not all such buildings are viable for alternative rooftop sites) that can otherwise seriously impede an operator’s signal.
The difficulty with smaller monopole style masts is that, in order to spread your coverage, you often have to build quite a few of them and fitting everything you need to deliver a good service on top of such a relatively small space is extremely difficult.
The good news is that Vodafone’s engineers have recently been introducing a new “Quad Stack” mast design. Unlike older masts (single stacks), just one quad stack mast can support 2G, 4G and 5G together, thanks to the latest construction techniques and space-saving technology. For example, multiple fibre optic cables can now be combined into a single ribbon cable with a compact connector, while the street cabinets have also been rationalised and reduced in number.
At present, Vodafone only appears to have been deploying these across the Greater London area, as they have been designed to withstand the wind shear typical to that part of the country, although you may well start to see them popping up elsewhere soon too.
However, we have our doubts about whether these will actually lead, as Vodafone suggests, to an overall reduction in mast numbers across urban areas. This is because mobile operators are increasingly adopting higher mobile frequencies, which tends to require such networks to increase their density in order to counteract for the weaker signals of such bands. In that sense, the new masts may at least help to keep the number of such sites down, rather than allowing them to grow.