Cell Phone Tower Activity

This is my first (not counting Introduction) thread, so here goes. Mods, please move this to the best place if this isn't it.

I have researched a little about cell phone towers. I have one VERY close to my home, and have often wondered what it is really capable of. My dad has called it the "spy tower" the 15 years we have lived here. I will be updating this thread with new information and research as I go along. Also, I will be heading over there with my camera and taking photo documentation of everything I can. For now, I only capped a couple shots from Google Earth street view.

View #1
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View #2
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I have no idea what that white streak in the second photo is other than a glitch in Google's camera. (Anyone else find it creepy that they have driven all over the free world photographing EVERYTHING!)

These images do not show the reason that I am starting this thread. I don't drive by this tower often as the road to town goes in the opposite direction, and the base of the tower is obstructed by trees. However, recently, I noticed that this tower seems to be "staffed". Why would they staff a cell phone tower? It doesn't appear to be a substation of any sort, yet there are always 2 white pick ups there during the day...and a Ryder rental truck on my last pass. Then I look up and find out that Ryder is a black ops contractor for the U.S. I thought that was interesting.

I am not insinuating anything, but I will be documenting the goings on at this tower on this thread and would very much like to hear from others living in the shadow of the towers.

I used to work for a cell phone company(not going to say which one) but I can tell you that there are some definite shady capabilities of cell phone towers.

The first thing I would suggest is finding out if it a UMTS or CDMA or GSM tower-that would help narrow down which company owns it.

reply to post by captaintyinknots


even if he finds out who owns it what will that change?

If you want to investigate the tower you should start by providing a better picture of the top of the tower (it will generally show what type of tower it is), and also a picture of the tower's power supply (if it has a ridiculously large power supply it can be used for shady purposes).

Originally posted by Doc Tesla
reply to post by captaintyinknots

 

even if he finds out who owns it what will that change?

More than you could imagine. Specific companies have different gov't contracts. AT&T, for example, was heavily involved in wiretapping and domestic spying. Knowing that it was one of their towers opens up a lot more possibility.

Cricket is another one, for example. They were actually formed as a way to provide ex-cons with communication devices. It is government owned, after you dig through the layers of smoke screens.

Originally posted by captaintyinknots
I used to work for a cell phone company(not going to say which one) but I can tell you that there are some definite shady capabilities of cell phone towers.

The first thing I would suggest is finding out if it a UMTS or CDMA or GSM tower-that would help narrow down which company owns it.

Well, what you are saying definitely backs up the small amount of reading on the subject I have done so far. The only evidence that I have so far regarding what company owns the tower is this:

I have a Verizon cell phone and broadband card which pick up flawlessly here, and I am in the sticks. I can go to my friend's house in the middle of the city and not pick up internet there with my BB card.

I also have an AT&T phone (for work) which usually has full bars, but choppy service out here. That's what I know so far. Let me go check and see what I can find because I know some companies list the locations of their towers...

Ah, ok. I used this site: www.cellreception.com...

It says the tower is owned by New Cingular Wireless Pcs LLC. I thought that Cingular was taken over by AT&T. I clicked on the link to the name, and I find out the following about this particular tower:

Structure Type: Mast
Overall Height Above Ground: 96.0 m
Overall Height Above Ground w/o Appurtenances: 91.4 m
Owner: New Cingular Wireless Pcs, LLC
Attention To: Fcc Group
5601 Legacy Drive, Ms: A-3
P.O. Box
Plano, TX 75024
Contact: Muayyad Mustafa
5601 Legacy Drive, Ms: A-3
Plano, TX 75024

Muayyad Mustafa!?! Now I am not racist in the least, but really? Interesting stuff. I will continue to post more to this thread and feel free to post your own experiences as well.

reply to post by glitchinthematrix


Very interesting. Cingular is now AT&T, but in more rural areas they are still known as cingular.

Cell reception doesnt really tell us much-most companies have enough towers now that coverage is good even if you arent near a tower. Most companies also use repeaters, so there doesnt even need to be a tower near you.

DO me a favor. Go on ATT.com/wireless, type your address into their coverage viewer. That should tell you if it is AT&T owned.

reply to post by captaintyinknots


Ok, I did that. I didn't see any confirmation indicating that indeed they own the tower. The coverage maps only marked my location and did not mark the tower at all; however, all of the coverage maps including Mobile TV indicated stellar reception in my area...and I'm rural.

The Mobile TV coverage was considerably less than Voice and Data as it was basically a square surrounding the tower that barely included my location. I would say that my home is probably a football field and a half from the tower. I'm not sure if that helps.

reply to post by glitchinthematrix


The other thing you can do is go in to a local AT&T store and ask them to run your address-their system will show you exactly where the towers in your area are. Verizon and T-mobile can also do this.

If you can, try to get some pictures of the base of the tower as well as the area closely surrounding it. There should be one power source, but if there are more, it could be a sign of something.

reply to post by captaintyinknots


Will do. My brother has my digital camera, but I may head over with my phone camera tomorrow. It will suffice with decent enough photos to see the gist for now and I will post better ones when I get my camera back. Thanks for you input.

reply to post by glitchinthematrix


No worries, glad for any help I can give.

I find it quite odd that a tower would be "manned"-there is no reason for this to be. Its one thing if they are there working on the tower-but then why the ryder truck?

Keep me posted when you get the pics.

Muayyad Mustafa is indeed an AT&T Mobility Communications employee. I was pretty sure I had heard that name before.

Interesting. Keep the thread going, take better pics.

I'm sorry...I kinda let this thread die without adding the photos that I promised. My dad and I went down the private road one afternoon last fall and snapped some quick pictures of the tower, the power supply and signage on the fence. We even got one of the mailbox which we didn't dare touch.

Mailbox with outgoing mail.



Power supply.



Building.



Signage I


Signage II



Signage III



Tower from approaching private drive.



Pretty standard stuff. Of course there was no one there when we took these shots and the Ryder truck had disappeared. The only thing really out of the place was the mailbox, but I have to assume that it is not for U.S. Mail, but rather for reporting and documentation among workers who maintain this particular tower. If not..then what?



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reply to post by glitchinthematrix


Awesome! I commend you for going out there and taking some extra pictures! You know, I like you totally am paranoid about Cell Towers. Where I am from near Washington DC they actually disguise the towers as trees by painting the towers brown and putting fake limbs on it and having it mimick a tree. Totally aggravating. These are right above houses in residential areas. You are lucky this isnt right next door to your house!

Maybe, if you continue to suspect foul play, you could look into the mail box next time and see what is inside of it

reply to post by xynephadyn


I know exactly what you are talking about. I spent 4.5 years out in Vegas and they had them disguised as palm trees. This particular tower was in view of my house before I moved. It was maybe a 5-minute walk away. Anytime I was outside, I could see it from all over my yard. I don't like them because I think they can be used for MUCH more sinister things than cell phones. I'm not convinced that it's not dangerous to live close to them.

Originally posted by glitchinthematrixPower supply.

That's not a power supply.
The gray box on the left is the telco demarcation housing T1s, NIUs, etc. To the right is a rectifier power cabinet, Nokia ultrasite BTS and an Argus battery cabinet. On the other side of the slab is another Argus cabinet housing diplexers to permit combination of the UMTS signals generated by the small white boxes (Ericsson RRU's) mounted to the poles on the right, with the GSM signals generated by the Nokia BTS I mentioned. The grating above the equipment is to protect it from anything falling off the tower such as ice, etc.
This is most likely operated by AT&T/Cingular.

Building.

Looks like a standard Fiberbond telecommunications shelter. Judging by the louveres on the right side of the shelter, I'd guess there's a generator located inside which would imply Verizon occupies the shelter. They don't like colocating with others in their buildings so not likely anyone else in there.

To the right, it looks like a cabinet for Cricket and another telco demarc.

Tower from approaching private drive.

Looks like there are 3 antenna arrays on the tower, which supports what I said about the equipment on site.

Pretty standard stuff. Of course there was no one there when we took these shots and the Ryder truck had disappeared. The only thing really out of the place was the mailbox, but I have to assume that it is not for U.S. Mail, but rather for reporting and documentation among workers who maintain this particular tower. If not..then what?

The trucks and such you saw on site were probably installing the UMTS equipment on the outdoor site, or possible installing equipment in the shelter. AT&T is in the process of installing UMTS 1900 MHz equipment all around the country.

reply to post by glitchinthematrix


Can you sell the house without the tower being disclosed by the realtor?

It may be possible to find a buyer who thinks having a 'strong signal' is a plus, an actual selling point.

The towers are a definite weapon network, hidden in plain sight, as per the tenets of all agencies involved in evil.

If you have daughters you'd best get to another place now. The signals fry the eggs of young girls, new studies suggest.

Good luck with your new home. Check zoning or what have you for the possibility that one will or won't go up after you buy.

[edit on 15-5-2010 by davidmann]

reply to post by abecedarian


I have no idea what you're talking about, but it's great info. Thanks for your input and for correcting my cell tower ignorance.

reply to post by glitchinthematrix


I work on cell towers and am just trying to describe the equipment on site, or at least what I could make out. Most of it is typical cell-site stuff but whether it's nefarious or not, I don't know. Crown Castle operates towers all over the country and leases space to the cell carriers.
I didn't see any equipment suggesting why the tower carries US Govt warnings on the fence so most likely, that would be in the shelter. And looking more carefully over the tower photo it does look like two panel antennae located just below the tophat so it appears there are 4 operators on the tower.