Ericsson's Tower Tube: innovative cellphone stations

The Ericsson Tower Tube is an innovative construction that houses base stations and antennas, fully encapsulating them in an aesthetic, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly tower. It employs cutting-edge design and building materials, and can be built in a variety of shapes and sizes, with customized finishes that make it a natural fit for any landscape.

The Tower Tube replaces conventional telecommunication sites with a sleek, architecturally designed, aesthetically pleasing tower. It can be regarded as a feature of any landscape.

It employs modular concrete construction that allows the structure to be deployed quickly and easily. The tower can be erected in a variety of heights, shapes and styles. The exterior’s color, pattern and finish can also be adapted to help it fit into rural or urban settings, and win public acceptance for a new site.

The tower is a self-contained site. It safely houses all equipment within its slim design (about 5m in diameter), reducing the need for more land.

The tower’s concrete exterior protects equipment effectively from the elements and provides a stable internal environment. Indoor equipment can be used and antennas are protected by a radome, or weatherproof enclosure. The robust concrete membrane provides additional protection from vandalism and lightning.

Radio base stations (RBS) are enclosed within the tower. They are initially installed at the bottom of the tower and then raised to the top by an elevator. By positioning a RBS at height, there is very low feeder loss, which allows improved network coverage and capacity