Mobile operator Globe Telecom has introduced the use of cell sites disguised as palm trees to address aesthetic concerns over the use of towering cell sites in exclusive villages.
The offer to build palm-like cellphone towers follows the introduction of the outdoor distributed antenna system (ODAS), a new technology that makes use of specialized lamp posts built with radio signal transmission capability.
?The use of tree-shaped cellphone towers is part of Globe Telecom?s efforts to improve wireless signal in exclusive villages in line with our network transformation initiative,? said Emmanuel Estrada, Globe head of network technologies strategy, referring to the company?s $790 million network and IT modernization program which will be completed within the year.
So far, Globe has utilized aesthetic tree solution in enhancing connectivity in Urdaneta Village in Makati City, Estrada said.
According to Estrada, the use of palm-tree cellphone towers is most effective in camouflaging gigantic cell sites that are sometimes considered as eye sores by some residents in exclusive villages.
?The disguised cell phone towers will be difficult to identify as such and they even work to beautify the area where these infrastructures are installed,? Estrada said.
Certain residents in exclusive villages have been opposing the installation of cell sites in their respective areas, citing aesthetic concerns over such infrastructures. Still, cell sites are critical in providing seamless connectivity.
The ODAS solution, on the other hand, uses fiber-optic cables to distribute a base station?s signals to multiple low power active antenna systems installed in nominal locations inside residential subdivisions.
It also supports all frequency bands used by wireless carriers, including the cutting edge long-term evolution (LTE) technology, providing stronger support for mobile data services.
The ODAS solution has been effectively deployed in Dasmarinas Village.
