The detection of communication towers is not a criminal activity, but a fairly common task in remote regions and villages where the quality of coverage leaves much to be desired. How to understand why it takes better from this post than from that gate? The following tools and websites can help you navigate.

Of the English-language services, perhaps the best is opensignal.com, where you can select the operator and the desired location. The map does not display towers, but shows coverage areas. Of the Russians, I can recommend netmonitor.ru - its database contains a lot of information about operator towers.

Some of the apps for Android are also interesting. For example, OpenSignal displays a map of cell towers and Wi-Fi points (there are also places with poor connection marked on the map), has a built-in compass and a speed checker.

Another interesting utility is Netmonitor. It can monitor GSM and CDMA networks, display information about signal strength, contain a database of cell towers, support devices with multiple SIM cards, and can also log in CLF or KLM format.

Please note that Netmonitor has limitations when working on devices from some manufacturers. On Motorola, LG, Samsung, Acer, and Huawei smartphones, the list of neighbors may be empty, and on Samsung devices, the signal strength may not be displayed.

I also recommend the GSM Signal Monitoring application, which allows you to work with GSM, UMTS and LTE networks. It displays the change in the signal level on the graph and shows neighboring cells (only in GSM networks). There is a data rate monitor and the ability to monitor connection status, connection standard, cell and current zone identifiers (LAC / RNC / TAC) and received signal strength (RSSI, as well as RSRP for LTE).

Knowing the data of the base station, you can punch it through the site xinit.ru and get information about its location. In large cities, it does not hurt to try to find popular maps with the location of the towers, but you should understand that the towers belong to different operators. Plus, base stations are placed not only on poles, but also on the roofs of houses.

The terms "base station" and "cell tower" have long and firmly entered our lexicon. And if the average user remembers these things not so often, then the “cell phone” is clearly in the top ten out of habit. Hundreds of millions of people use cellular communications every day, but very few of them think about how this very connection is provided. And of that minority, very few truly understand the complexity and subtlety of this communication tool.

From the point of view of most people, installing a cellular base station is a very simple matter. It is enough to hang several antennas, connect them to the network - and you're done. But such a view is fundamentally wrong. And so we decided to talk about how many subtleties and nuances arise when installing a base station in a metropolis.

To illustrate our story clearly, we documented in detail the process of installing a cell tower on the roof of a building in Moscow, at ul. Krasnodonskaya, 19, building 2. It is a two-storey detached administrative building. We chose this particular example because this base station does not just have a small bracket for hanging antennas, but a 5-section tower 15 m high. But let's start in order.

Preparation and design

Work on installing a base station begins with finding a suitable object. When it is found, a lease agreement is concluded with its owner. The required location of the antennas of the future station, the payload mass are determined, and metal structures are designed based on this. This takes into account the bearing capacity of the structural elements of the building itself.

A set of documentation (almost 5 cm thick) is issued for each installed base station. Among other things, many parameters of the future design are indicated here: its location on the object, overall dimensions, total weight, location of support points, voltage and power consumption, and so on.

This folder contains comprehensive information:

• project documentation;
• copies of statements, licenses, certificates and conclusions of conformity for all elements, up to nuts and paint;
• working documentation for equipment, metal structures, architectural and construction solutions, lightning protection;
• sanitary and epidemiological conclusion on the safety of the station for residents of surrounding houses.

Let's go back to our tower. After the coordination and approval of the project, the platform and five segments of the tower were manufactured separately at the plant. Since in this case it was a rather heavy structure, it had to be installed on the load-bearing walls of the building. To do this, holes were cut in the roof and support beams were installed. They play the role of a pile foundation for the platform, on which the station equipment and a tower with antennas were subsequently mounted. The total weight of the platform was 3857 kg.

The profile, dimensions and number of beams from which the platform is assembled, the wall thickness, the length of the welds, the hardware used - all these parameters are calculated based on the mass of the payload, the bearing capacity of the walls of the building, as well as possible wind loads in the given region. Of course, these are far from the only criteria, first of all, the tower must ensure the possibility of installing transmitting and receiving antennas at the required height in the visibility zone of neighboring base stations. In addition, the design must be sufficiently rigid so that the relay communication beam does not go astray.

Installation of metal structures

The building is small, it does not have a separate exit to the roof, so the assembly team has to climb up the fire escape. Its lower part is cut off so that the inhabitants of the surrounding houses do not climb onto the roof. Unfortunately, this does not stop them too much, so something often disappears from the roofs - spare parts, cables, feeders, etc.

Despite the fact that each station is equipped with an alarm system, the security service does not always have time to arrive on time.

The base station of another mobile operator is already installed on the roof, but its dimensions cannot be compared with ours.

After the platform is installed, sites are prepared for the installation of the first section of the tower:

After installing the section, “tightening the nuts” begins:

The installation of the tower on the studs is done in order to be able to compensate for deviations from the vertical during installation and further operation.

The verticality of the structure is constantly monitored from two points using theodolites. Moreover, measurements are carried out separately for each section of the tower, and then the measurement log will be included in the set of documents. Subsequently, periodic measurements of the position of the tower are carried out, since under its own weight and the weight of the equipment, a slight spiral twisting of the structure can occur (up to 50 mm per 72 m height).

Hardware cabinet prepared for installation on the platform:

So, the first section is installed and aligned. Installers are preparing to receive the second section:

Great attention is paid to safety and comfort of work not only during installation, but also during further maintenance. The size of the work sites is chosen so that the engineers have enough space to work. Ladder railings have been installed, openings in the platforms on the tower are closed with hatches to prevent accidental falls. The platform is raised above the roof plane so that in winter the equipment is not covered with snow and is not blocked by ice.

Installation of the remaining sections of the tower:

Hardware cabinet queue:

The tower was mounted, the last measurements were made using theodolites. Deviations are minimal and strictly within tolerances. The weight of the tower was 2827 kg, and the total weight of all metal structures was 6684 kg.

The colors of the sections are standard: the lower and upper ones are always red, the intermediate ones alternate with white. At the top you can see 4 pins, which are a continuation of the edges of the tower - these are elements of lightning protection.

Equipment

The next step was the installation of all necessary equipment and cabling. Full list of installed equipment:

As a result, the station acquired a rather majestic appearance, especially in comparison with the building itself:

The station is supplied with a voltage of 380 V (3 phases), which is then converted to 48 V. The power is taken with a margin - up to 10 kW. Power is supplied to a separate locker.

Open the cabinet door. It has an air conditioner (top) and a heater (bottom).

The temperature of 18…20 degrees Celsius is maintained in the cabinet throughout the year. This is necessary for the smooth operation of the equipment and the long service life of the batteries (they are located below).

Batteries are designed to ensure the operation of the station for about a day in the event of a power outage.

Above is the switching unit and the voltage converter.

The transfer of information between system modules and transceivers (about them below) is carried out via fiber optic cables. This is what the connector looks like in the switching unit. In no case should it be touched by hands, the fiber is very sensitive to damage and contamination.

All base stations of cellular communications are connected to a single fiber-optic information network stretched throughout Moscow. The white bay under the hardware cabinet is just the cable through which this station is connected.

To the right of the cabinet are GSM, CDMA and LTE system modules:

These modules are the heart of the base station, they receive the signal from the antennas and carry out its conversion and compression with further forwarding. They are not afraid of precipitation, all connectors are sealed, and the operating temperature range is from +60 to -50.

Lightning arresters are located under the system modules, which prevent the equipment from burning out in the event of a lightning strike:

To the right above the modules are coils of fiber optic cable, through which they are connected to the transceivers on the tower.

Let's go to the tower. It has transceivers installed separately for each band (GSM, CDMA and LTE). They amplify the signal from extremely small values ​​up to 115-120 dB. Power is supplied to them from the hardware cabinet:

The oblong vertical "boxes" are the antennas. They are shielded at the back to protect operating personnel from electromagnetic radiation. Let's go up to the platform.

Fiber optic cables are connected to the transceiver at the edges, power supply is in the center:

Grounding is brought to the tower:

Cable connectors and their plugs on the antenna:

We have already mentioned that the design and construction of a cellular base station is not at all as simple as it seems to the uninitiated. There are many nuances that are associated with the specific location of the station. For example, radio signal transmission over a large body of water is degraded, although it should be the other way around, because there are no obstacles. But the fact is that an electromagnetic field propagates above the surface of the earth, and a large volume of water works as a kind of capacitor, over which interference with the radio signal is amplified. And there are many such subtleties, so the efficiency of the base station directly depends on the professionalism of designers and installers.

Published 04/22/2015 by Johhny

In this article, we will cover the topic of what the Beeline coverage area is, as well as how to find out about its condition in a particular region and solve connection problems.

Beeline coverage map and its features

Having studied the map of the location of the operator's communication towers, you can see that the whole country is covered by them. But communication is far from always present where there are well-equipped mobile operator stations. Why so, you ask.

Many users who do not know about the features of mobile communications attribute problems with it to the service operator. But this is far from true.

Network quality depends on many factors:

1. Insufficient signal power away from the base tower or the direction of the antennas is wrong.
2. Uneven distribution of base stations due to the peculiarities of the geographical location and architectural development of the settlement, resulting in incomplete coverage of the territory.
3. The quality of communication also depends on the building density of the area., the layout of the building in which the subscriber is located, or even the thickness of its walls.
4. Weather conditions play an important role- so, rain greatly affects the throughput of communication channels.

Mainly about the quality of communication and coverage the subscriber wants to know in the following cases:

• Buying real estate (most often outside the city).
• Going on a trip, picnic or vacation.
• Going on a business trip.

Below you can see the coverage map:

By the way, on the map, large cities are mostly shown with the best signal, but remote settlements, so to speak, the outback, cannot boast of this.

But here a surprise may await you - although the tower may not be indicated on the map, the operator’s communication in this area can be quite tolerable.

For what reason is this happening? Most often, the reflected signal takes part in this, although small inaccuracies in the compilation of the coverage map cannot be ruled out.

Where can I catch 3g and 4g signals from Beeline?

Having carefully studied the Beeline coverage map, you can see that the Internet of these categories is not available everywhere. The best 3g technology signals can be received in the central part of the country, but in the eastern and northern regions, things are worse with this.

Regarding the Internet using 4g technology, the coverage here is much more modest. Base stations with this signal are located pointwise, from which not all users of the operator also catch the signal.

4g Internet can be used by residents of megacities Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as their regions. Also, the inhabitants of certain central regions of Russia have such an advantage.

In other regions of the Russian Federation, 4g signals appear only in the largest cities - the administrative centers of the regions where Beeline LTE base stations are located. This service is provided in 11 regions of the country, every year increasing the volume of coverage of more and more new territories.

Problems in signal reception and how to solve this problem

As mentioned above, the lack of a signal or its poor quality is the place to be everywhere. And the operator is not always the reason. Now we would like to tell you what can be done if you have a bad operator signal on your phone.

Of course, complaining about the small number of base stations or their insufficient capacity, you will not speed up the process of installing new ones and upgrading old ones.

But by sending a request to the operator indicating your location and the characteristics of the signal you receive, you can be sure that the operator will definitely consider this request and check the settings of their stations in this region, which may just need additional correction. That is why feedback from its users is very important for Beeline.

In addition, the problem may lie in the gadget itself, which simply does not receive a signal due to the fact that this type of connection is not supported by it. To avoid this, when purchasing equipment, be sure to ask the seller about the functions of receiving communication signals.

To solve connection problems in remote areas of the region, where the signal does not penetrate well, so in the country, you can install special cellular amplifiers.

You should also pay attention to the time of registration in the network. The fact is that during peak hours, when the network is experiencing a large influx of users, the signal is scattered and it simply may not be enough for everyone, or its quality begins to “limp”.

It will be useful to see:

Grand total

In order to be in touch, users need to have an idea about the quality of communication in the area where they are located. To do this, the Beeline operator posted a very accessible map of its network coverage on its website. If the subscriber is not satisfied with the quality of the signal, the company is always ready to listen and help in solving the problem. In addition, today the solution to many connection problems is not limited to adjusting antennas at base stations, but you can find out exactly what solutions to problems exist in this article.

MTS Coverage Map

In order to provide quality services to subscribers, MTS has created a modern telecommunications infrastructure, including its own mobile networks and services available to subscribers.

MTS coverage area

At the moment, the operator offers a whole range of telecommunication services based on three main standards. The MTS coverage map in the capital and regions is posted on this page, including the zones:

• 2G - cellular telephone connection;
• 3G - telephone communications and services, including conference calls, voice mail, access to multimedia and Internet at a limited speed;
• 4G (LTE) - Internet, access to multimedia and various communication services, TV, video, video communication without speed limit.

At the moment, MTS has deployed a serious technical infrastructure that allows you to receive various communication services while meeting the requirements for reliability, security, confidentiality and signal stability. Work continues on services that will be available to subscribers in the near future.

The proposed coverage map will help determine if your geographic location falls within the MTS coverage area. At the same time, keep in mind that the speed of the Internet will be higher if you are moving no faster than 12 km per hour (namely, on foot or by bike), slower if you are in a car. When switching between the coverage areas of Moscow and other regions, a seamless switching is performed, imperceptible to the subscriber.

To use 4G (LTE), you need a special USIM SIM card and a device that supports LTE.

MTS coverage map in Moscow

MTS is one of 4 companies that develops the 4G standard in Russia and has dual-band frequencies for this purpose. Almost all major cities in Russia already provide full coverage for all MTS telephony standards, including 4G. In terms of coverage, LTE is available not only in the terrestrial segment, but also in the metro and underground garages - the MTS 2017 coverage map is available below. With MTS, you can use one of the most modern and expensive engineering infrastructures in the field of telecommunications with many integrated services.

In Moscow and the Moscow region, due to the heavy load on the communication networks, deployed backup channels that maintain a high level of communication and are flexibly configured to serve all subscribers located in the coverage area. If 3G completely covers the capital, then the MTS 4G LTE coverage map, as for a developing standard, has areas of uncertain reception. This information will be useful to you if you want to install a modem for Internet access at home and need to check zones.

MTS coverage area in Russia

Many subscribers connect to MTS because they know that this company provides the largest reception area in Russia. You will have access to MTS communication almost anywhere in the country. If you want to verify this, use the MTS coverage area map in Russia. In doing so, pay attention to the communication standards that you usually use and the availability of services where you are going. The current coverage map for MTS in Crimea is available on the site, which will be useful to residents of the peninsula to assess the available signal in their area of ​​residence.

Internet speed test from MTS

Subscribers often complain about the insufficient speed of Internet access from MTS. As a rule, this can depend on a number of factors:

• you do not have a 4G standard connected;
• you are in an area of ​​poor 4G reception or there is significant interference in the access area;
• the device does not provide reliable signal reception, provided that it is in the coverage area.

Each MTS subscriber, purchasing a range of services, first of all, gets access to high-quality communications. For this reason, if your mobile device works well, you are in the right coverage area, you should have normal access to telecommunications services and the Internet, incl.

If it doesn’t happen, you need to fix the facts of speed reduction by first checking your location in the reception area, and then test the Internet speed from MTS.

How to make an Internet speed test from MTS?

You can check the speed of the Internet using a number of resources on the Internet. The provider does not offer its own web service, but subscribers can use a mobile application or provide data from third-party services. What do I need to do:

• this can be done from the site http://pr-cy.ru/speed_test_internet/ or the site http://www.speedtest.net/ru/
• when you log in, you will see information about the access point in the form of a table;
• run a speed test;
• write down the data and check with the provision agreement, if you get access in 4G format, the speed must be at least 112 Mbps (outgoing and incoming traffic has different speeds), check the provider's website or in the MTS salon for more details.