Tower.Node

Due to Australia’s vast and remote geography, mobile carriers struggle to provide ubiquitous network coverage. Mobile black spots are common in urban fringe and regional locations. Additionally, there is significant community resistance to telecommunication towers due to their visual impact. Mobile phone towers are typically designed for effective radio telecommunications rather than visual amenity. At 25m or higher, host a vast array of equipment at the top, whilst also relying upon an equipment shed at their base. The design challenge was to address mobile black spots without impacting the liveability of our communities.

Essential to this innovative design solution was effective team collaboration with Industrial Designers taking the lead. This allowed a broader view of the challenge than what is typically seen by network planners and structural engineers alone. The solution sought to encapsulate all telecommunication equipment into a sports field light which are typically 25-35m tall. The TOWER.NODE hosts radio equipment above the lighting arm, hidden behind a shroud. It also caters for ground level equipment within a widened pole base. The TOWER.NODE is modular allowing it to be installed at different heights, as required by the field size and sporting code.

The TOWER.NODE is a commercial win/win for both the mobile carrier and local government. Due to increased revenue through network growth for the carrier, the Local Government often receives these poles for no cost in return for site access. The TOWER.NODE improves urban amenity by significantly decreasing the visual impact when compared with a traditional mobile tower, whilst providing power savings due to the use of smart lighting. With the demand for mobile data expected to triple between 2023 and 2029, the TOWER.NODE provides a solution to the inconvenience of mobile black spots in urban fringe and regional areas.

The TOWER.NODE also includes the capability to host other sensors and devices via its “multi-technology module” (MTM). Technology such as environmental sensors for sports field management, CCTV and help buttons for public safety, and digital displays for event and score information. The MTM was originally designed for HUB’s SMART.NODE product, and has been reimagined within the TOWER.NODE to provide a simple and flexible approach to mounting technology on a pole in the public realm, allowing sensors and devices to be easily changed or replaced as technology evolves. Further, the TOWER.NODE supports smart sports field lighting which delivers energy savings and increased light longevity. Smart lighting is smart, because it can take multiple data inputs to inform how lighting is applied. For example, a sport’s field community booking system could interface directly with the lighting controller to turn the lights on when needed. Additionally, lighting could be automatically activated during weather events, or dimmed to a low level if no people are detected at the sports field. Lastly significant design work was undertaken to ensure heat generated within the equipment racks in the tower base could be extracted to protect the operations of the telecommunications equipment.