In 2020, there were 417,215 cell towers in the US. And that number is steadily growing as the world grows more and more connected. All of these towers must be inspected every 3 to 5 years and then even more frequently as they get older.
But traditional inspection methods have several drawbacks. And that’s why drone cell tower inspections are quickly becoming an attractive alternative.
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Traditional Methods of Cell Tower Inspections
Traditional cell tower inspections are a highly dangerous job. Most towers are 100 to 300 feet (30 to 90 m) tall, and some even reach up to 1000 feet (300 m). So naturally, climbing up them presents some serious safety risks. Falling is most often deadly and the cell tower equipment gives off dangerous radiofrequency (RF) radiation. In fact, 50 climbers died working on cell sites in the US between 2003 and 2011. That’s 10 times the death rate of construction workers.
On top of that, a manual cell tower inspection is expensive, costing anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 per tower. It takes a highly skilled engineer team to operate a lot of heavy equipment that has to be brought on site. Large teams must be dispatched to slowly inspect miles of cell towers. Inevitably, they are forced to prioritize towers that have the greatest risk because they can’t get to all the towers that need an inspection.
“For organizations that need to manage infrastructure over miles of terrain, drones incorporated with a comprehensive data collection, processing and reporting program, prove to be a flexible and cost-effective way to inspect assets while keeping technicians safe.”
- Dave Culler, General Manager of Energy at PrecisionHawk
Drone Inspections of Cell Towers
Enter drones. Drone cell tower inspections offer a host of benefits over traditional inspections.
Let’s go over them:
1. Reduced Risk
Drones have the potential to save lives. They can easily assess the condition of every component of a cell tower from the air and from different angles. Inspectors can then watch the livestream on a tablet from the ground. This eliminates both the risk of climbers falling to the ground and the risk of tools being dropped and breaking or hurting someone. It also minimizes workers’ exposure to hazardous radiofrequency (RF) radiation.
At the same time, the drone itself is protected from damage through collision avoidance, geofencing, and real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning technology. So switching to drone cell tower inspections minimizes the risk of costly damage to the cell tower and expensive equipment.
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Video Credit: AT&T
2. More Detailed Inspections
Drones also perform highly detailed inspections. For example, in addition to checking the integrity of a tower and identifying hazards from vegetation or animals, they can record the tiniest information, like the model and serial numbers of antennas.
Drones also provide valuable inspection data with the help of the following different types of payloads:
- 4K RGB cameras that offer high-resolution images and streamable video footage
- Thermal sensors that deliver radiometric data for exact temperatures and heat maps to identify hot spots
- Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) lasers that provide geospatial data to help generate highly accurate point clouds topographic maps
Together, these cameras and sensors can provide a lot of actionable information. And when a drone captures enough overlapping footage from multiple angles, mapping software can use photogrammetry to turn the data into valuable 3D maps as well.
3. Less Costly
Drone inspections are less costly because they need less manpower. Manual inspections require large teams of technicians who are paid $65 to $85 per hour plus travel expenses. But a single drone pilot can perform the same task in a fraction of the time.
Unlike traditional inspections, drone inspections also allow cell towers to continue operating. This means asset owners don’t lose any revenue through down time. And since drones can perform more frequent inspections, they can catch maintenance issues early on to prevent them from developing into costly problems later down the road.
Detailed drone inspection reports also make it easier for asset owners to file insurance and warranty claims, which could save them thousands of dollars. And because drone teams are smaller, they also have fewer health costs to cover and can pass those savings on to asset owners.
When all is said and done, drones can cut inspection costs by up to 50%.
4. Faster Inspection Times
A manual inspection takes over 6 hours per cell tower. This is because each inspection requires multiple safety checks, bringing heavy equipment on site, and carefully climbing tall towers one by one.
But with drones, you can significantly lower inspection times by automating workflows. Data capture, 3D modeling, analytics, and reports can all be automated to streamline the inspection process.
For example, drone pilots can dial in predetermined flight routes to let the drone fly on its own while they monitor it to make sure everything runs smoothly. This makes inspections incredibly fast and easy.
5. Easily Scalable
Drone inspections are very scalable. You can easily increase the number of towers you inspect by programming the desired inspection route and executing it over and over again across several cell towers.
This also allows you to benefit from economies of scale. The more cell tower inspections you outsource to a drone company, the more efficient the process becomes and the more you’ll save over time.
Next Steps: Getting Started with Drone Cell Tower Inspections
The number of cell towers is steadily growing. It’s no wonder the market for drones in the telecom industry has reached $6.3 billion. Asset holders are recognizing how UAVs are best able to handle the increased workload.
But drone cell tower inspections are not a beginner drone pilot job. One mistake could total your aircraft and lead to thousands of dollars in utility damages and lost revenue. A drone inspection needs to be performed by an experienced, FAA licensed pilot. They should also be certified in thermography, be able to manage electromagnetic interference, and know how to fly with extreme precision around expensive towers.
If you’re interested in hiring an experienced and certified drone team, schedule a free one-on-one meeting with one of our drone pilots today.
What's included in the PDF...
The complete step-by-step beginners roadmap for infrastructure inspections
Crucial factors of success when implementing a drone program
The game-changing advantages of utilizing drones for inspections
