Mobile cell sites are

infrastructures Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

transportable on trucks, allowing fast and easy installation in restricted spaces. Their use is strategic for the rapid expansion of

cellular network A cellular network or mobile network is a telecommunications network where the link to and from end nodes is wireless network, wireless and the network is distributed over land areas called ''cells'', each served by at least one fixed-locatio ...

s putting into service point-to-point radio connections as well as supporting sudden increases in mobile traffic in the case of extraordinary events (trade fairs, sports events, concerts, emergencies, catastrophic events, etc.). Mobile cell sites are also used by law enforcement organizations to gather intelligence. Mobile cell sites require neither civil works nor foundations, just minimal requirements like commercial power and grounding. The mobile units have been designed to be a temporary solution, but if requested, they can be transformed into permanent stations.

Different kinds of mobile cell sites

There are several different kinds of mobile

cell site A cell site, cell phone tower, cell base tower, or cellular base station is a cellular frequencies, cellular-enabled mobile device site where antenna (electronics), antennas and electronic communications equipment are placed (typically on a Rad ...

s, every one of which has different usage characteristics.

Rapid-deployment units (RDU)

RDUs are mobile radio base stations transportable on trucks. Their use is strategic for the rapid expansion of cellular networks. * A rapid deployment flanged pole is a mobile radio base station infrastructure transportable on a truck allowing fast and easy installation in restricted spaces. The antenna supporting pole, with a climbing ladder up to the summit, is fixed to the main base frame and is composed of cylindrical flanged sections integrated by two or three sets of guys with a standard height of up to 30 meters. The flanged pole mobile station, installable in eight hours, does not require civil work or foundations, and is complete, including lateral ballast concrete weights and a working platform in checkered plate. * A radio station kit is an integrated radio base station RDU in which the equipment housing is a special 20" container equipped to contain, during transportation, all the station infrastructure, assembly accessories, radiant systems, storage batteries, and electrical and radio equipment. It is a structure which can be quickly and easily transported and assembled on site, without the need of civil works or foundations and suitable for any environment. * A rapid deployment compact kitstat is a flanged pole RDU which allows easy and fast erection in narrow sites, without any need of foundation or civil works. The antenna supporting structure, supplied complete with climbing ladder and anchored to the steelwork base frame, is a flanged pole composed of tubular flanged sections with a height of up to 30 m and two or three steel guys. * A quickrawland with polygonal pole is an RDU which allows an easy and fast erection in narrow sites, without any need of foundation or civil works. It is provided with a polygonal pole with a height of up to 30 m; it has a climbing ladder with a rigid anchor line (EN353-1) and a vertical fixing system for feeders and service cables.

Cell on wheels

Cells on wheels (COW), or site on wheels, are telecom infrastructures, placed on trailer approved for road use, towed by heavy goods vehicles for loads of up to 3500 kg. These mobile radio base stations guarantee full operation in just one day and in restricted spaces. COWs provide fully functional service, via vehicles such as trailers, vans and trucks, to areas affected by natural disaster or areas with large user volume, such as major events. The backhaul to the

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

can be via terrestrial

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

communication satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

, or existing wired

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. * Mobile radio base stations with flanged poles are mobile support structures composed of a special trailer with retracting stabilizers approved for road use. The antenna supporting pole, with a climbing ladder up to the summit, is fixed to the main base frame and is composed of cylindrical flanged sections integrated by two or three sets of guys with a standard height of up to 20 meters. The flanged pole mobile station, installable in eight hours, does not require civil work or foundations and is complete with lateral ballast concrete weights and a working platform in checkered plate. * A rapid deployment self-mounting pole is a mobile supporting structure that corresponds to a special two-axle trailer with telescopic stabilizers approved for road traffic. The antenna supporting pole, with a standard height of up to 20 m, is made of aluminium and consists of three telescopic tubular elements. Installation is easy and fast and is carried out with manual winches. * Another RDU is a mobile cell site with a self-mounting pole that can be towed by heavy goods vehicles for loads of up to 7500 kg. The antenna supporting pole, with a standard height of up to 20 m, is made of aluminium and consists of three telescopic tubular elements. Installation is easy, fast and is carried out by means of manual winches. * A mobile station on a trailer is a mobile station with a telescopic mast. They are portable structures, towed by heavy goods vehicles for loads of up to 12000 kg. The antenna supporting pole, with a standard height of up to 30 m, is made of steel and consists of three telescopic tubular elements. Installation is easy, fast and is carried out with manual or electric winches.

Expanded or emergency service

COWs are used to provide expanded cellular network coverage and/or capacity for short-term demands, such as at special events such as major sporting events (

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

), major conventions, or in

disaster A disaster is an event that causes serious harm to people, buildings, economies, or the environment, and the affected community cannot handle it alone. '' Natural disasters'' like avalanches, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires are caused by na ...

areas where cellular coverage either was minimal, never present (e.g., in a

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

area where

firefighters A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

have set up a

command center A command center (often called a war room) is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose. While frequently considered to be a military facility, these can be used in many other cases by governments or businesses ...

during a major

forest fire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia), dese ...

) or was compromised by the disaster (e.g., in the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

). Following the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

on New York City in 2001, 36 cellular COWs were deployed by September 14, 2001, in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

to support the U.S.

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...

(FEMA) and provide critical phone service to rescue and recovery workers. COWs provided cellular service in

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are genera ...

in the aftermath of

Hurricane Charley Hurricane Charley was the first of four separate hurricanes to impact or strike Florida during 2004, along with Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, as well as one of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the United States. It was the third named sto ...

in 2004 when most of the area's stationary cell towers were destroyed. In January 2009, 26 cell-on-wheels units were put in place in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

for the inauguration of Barack Obama to handle the millions of extra people and their calls in the city, especially on and near the

National Mall The National Mall is a Landscape architecture, landscaped park near the Downtown, Washington, D.C., downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institu ...

. In January 2017 additional COWs, both temporary, and permanent, have been installed at the National Mall for the

inauguration of Donald Trump Inauguration of Donald Trump may refer to: * First inauguration of Donald Trump The United States presidential inauguration, inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States marked the commencement of Trump's first term ...

as well as for future inaugurations and other events due to the steady rise in

LTE LTE may refer to: Science and technology * LTE (telecommunication) (Long-Term Evolution), a mobile telephony standard ** LTE Advanced, an enhancement ** LTE Advanced Pro, a further enhancement * Compaq LTE, a line of laptop computers * Leukotrie ...

-based

smartphone A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as multi ...

s and other devices in the later half of the

2010s File:2010s collage v22.png, From top left, clockwise: Anti-government protests called the Arab Spring arose in 2010–2011, and as a result, many governments were overthrown, including when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was Death of Muammar Gad ...

. Many telecommunications companies also use COWs for long-term placement when financing or infrastructure considerations prevent building a permanent site at the location. For instance, a carrier may have approved the placement of a

for coverage reasons, but the remaining budget is inadequate to fund the construction for a

fiscal quarter A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

or even longer. An engineering team may be able to place a COW on location to provide immediate coverage with few costs other than

leasing A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, and backhaul. The decision to use a COW for an extended period of time may also be driven by the property owner. Installations on government or military facilities may be granted only on a temporary basis and may require the use of non-permanent facilities.

Cell on truck

A cell on truck is a particular kind of mobile cell site that is composed of mobile trucks with a container and with a self-mounting telescopic mast. They are portable structures that guarantee full operation in three hours and in restricted spaces. The steel interface frame is made of galvanized steel beams and is provided with four retracting stabilizers that can be retracted under the container for transport. The equipment and power container, which has a reinforced special 20' box container with two access doors, are divided by an intermediate partition to create two separate rooms (E and A). Room A is used for housing the electrical and radio equipment. Room E is used as a power room for housing the generating set and also, during transport, to contain the radiant systems and accessory components. The antenna supporting pole, with a standard height of up to 20 m, is made of aluminium and consists of three telescopic tubular elements. Installation is easy, fast and is carried out with manual winches.

References

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External links

Mobile Cell site Gallery
Telephony