Frequently Asked Questions

This information was created by Western Towers to help educate people about commercial towers. We have been manufacturing free standing towers for over 70 years. We designed, engineer, manufacture, service and decommissioned towers. We are a turnkey provider for all tower project needs. We specialize in self-support, guyed, monopole and tilt down towers.

What are the most common types of towers?

Self-supporting tower – These self supporting towers are also called lattice towers. The towers are generally made of steel and the most commonly used as a communication tower. A self-supporting tower is designed in either a square or a triangular shape.

Monopole Tower - As the name implies, monopole towers feature a single tubular mast. A monopole typically is approximately 50 feet to 200 feet in height. The antennas are mounted on the exterior of this type of tower. A benefit of this tower type is that it requires little ground space to erect, and the antennae are simply mounted to the top-exterior of the mast.

Guyed Tower - A guyed mast is a tall thin tower that depends on guy wires for stability. During tower installation special guy wires for towers are attached to the ground, usually spaced at equal angles about the structure's base. Guyed towers are frequently used for radio antennas and tv antenna towers. These towers can be over 2,000 feet (610 meters). Western Towers is one of the leading guyed towers manufacturers.

Tilt-towers – These towers are an innovative option for light loads on heights up to 80'. Numerous foundation options are available, both above and in-ground, that offer extremely fast installations without the need for heavy cranes, specialized tower crews or long foundation cure times. The standard tower heights of 20' to 80' are available, with 40' and 60' towers being the most popular selection.

What are the most common uses of towers?

There are many uses for industrial towers. This information is limited to the most common uses of commercial towers. Towers are called many things, such as antenna tower, support tower, cell tower and wireless communication tower.

Commercial towers are used in many industries and by governments.

Communication companies - communications towers
State Department of Transportation, DOTs. – communication and traffic control
Local government agencies – County, city, fire, police, and local road construction.
Federal government – FAA, DOD others.
Radio and TV stations -tv antenna towers
Others – sports lighting, security cameras, solar towers, wind tower, utility poles

What is 5G?

5G is the fifth generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks, which cellular phone companies began deploying worldwide in 2019. It is the successor to the 4G networks which provide connectivity to most current cellphones.

All 5G wireless devices in a cell are connected to the Internet and telephone network by radio waves through a local antenna in the cell. The main advantage of the new networks is that they will have greater bandwidth, giving higher download speeds, eventually up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbit/s).

Due to the increased bandwidth, it is expected the networks will not exclusively serve cellphones like existing cellular networks. 5G networks may also be used as general internet service providers for laptops and desktop computers, competing with existing ISPs such as cable internet. This will also make possible new applications in internet of things (IoT) and machine to machine communication.

New 5G towers have a limited range, requiring many small cells. They also have trouble passing through some types of materials such as walls and windows. This will require that there be many more 5G towers that the current 4G towers. Some estimate that there will be 100X more 5G towers compared to 4G.

Western Towers offers 5G towers, installation, site development, and 5G tower maintenance. For more information, please use the contact page: http://www.westerntowers.com/contact-us.