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Telecommunications

High-frequency radio communications (such as microwave and WiFi) do not have the energy to penetrate solid objects, so rely on having a direct Line-of-Sight between transmitter and receiver, in order to work properly. Operations to confirm that this Visual Line-of-Sight exists, are known are Visual Line-of-Sight Verification works (VLoSV). Drones are often used to help achieve this.

 

Transmitters and receivers may be located on top of commercial buildings, or dedicated comms towers. Special safety permits, such as Working at Heights for working on top of buildings, or Tower Climbing & Rescue Training, for working on comms towers, is required for working on a roof or up a tower, along with specialised safety equipment.

 

Establishing VLoSV does not necessarily require working from a building rooftop, or climbing a tower, since a drone can be used to get to the required height. However, there are overwhelming reasons why operating a drone from a rooftop is preferable to operating a drone from the ground, see Elevated Base Operations in the Services section, to know why! On the other hand, it is not usually necessary to climb a tower to establish VLoSV, as it is very easy to directly see a drone flying beside a comms tower. The only exception would be if it is impossible to secure a 30m clearance from people, next to the tower.

 

Telecommunications companies may also require periodical or “as-needed” inspections of their equipment mounted on comms towers. This may be to provide an up-to-date “as-built” scale Digital Twin of their infrastructure, so they can (for example) see how much, and where, room is remaining on the tower for additional equipment to be placed, or for asset tracking. Alternatively, it may also be (for example) to provide a visual condition report to confirm that a suspected lightning strike has damaged a radio, or for maintenance purposes.

 

CDS Differentiators:

  • My Matrice 300 RTK is ideal for operating near areas of high electromagnetic interference, as it has high levels of electromagnetic shielding, and the RTK positioning provides an accurate and redundant method of maintaining position, besides GPS. This essentially eliminates costly flyaways and crashes that can happen with more consumer-focussed drones. See CDS Resources

  • My H20T quad-sensor camera is ideal for generating close-up inspection photos from a safe distance, see CDS Resources

  • My H20T quad-sensor camera, in particular the unique “High-Res Grid Photo” feature of this camera. This feature easily and seamlessly allows you to capture a large area of interest in high-resolution detail (eg, a comms tower), with a matching wide-angle reference photo from which a single click will pull up that particular zoom photo, see CDS Resources

  • Working at Heights permit, see Background: Founder & Chief Remote Pilot

  • Boom lift and scissor lift licenses, see Background: Founder & Chief Remote Pilot

  • Numerous ladders, including 8.8m high ex-CFA ladder, see CDS Resources

  • All required PPE for working at heights, see CDS Resources

  • Site inductions for most tall buildings in Melbourne, see Background: Founder & Chief Remote Pilot

  • Experience with Pix4Dmapper for generating Digital Twin from photogrammetry, see Background: Founder & Chief Remote Pilot

  • Vast experience in this field, see Spirit Telecom's case study

  • I also know several people qualified for tower climbing / rigging, if necessary

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