Abstract
Have you ever stopped to look at the many types of telecommunications towers, masts, or poles that line our streets, roadsides, or rooftops?
One of the most clearly visible parts of the telecommunications industry is the many towers, masts, and poles which adorn roadsides, roofs and hilltops. Indeed, there is a plethora of such structures ranging from the most minor mobile phone cell site to the ubiquitous telegraph pole and the iconic BT Tower.
From the days of the Armada, telecommunications towers have been used to ensure messages can be sent over many miles.
Today, they play an essential role in the delivery to consumers of radio and television programmes, telephony, and broadband while also forming an important element of
national telecommunication backbone networks.
This lecture showcases the many types of telecommunications towers, masts, and poles that exist, considers their history and evolution, explains their function and why a wide variety of forms is required, highlights some unusual and little-known features and in so doing, brings to life an essential aspect of telecommunications on which our daily lives are so dependent, but which often goes unnoticed or unappreciated.
