First ever innovative bamboo telecom tower deployed in capital
The first ever innovative bamboo telecom tower developed with home grown technology was installed on a rooftop of a house in capital’s Uttara.
The innovation of the bamboo tower is the outcome of the joint collaboration between Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and mobile phone tower company edotco which was unveiled at a ceremony today in a city hotel.
The research and development led by Professor Dr. Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad, Professor of Civil Engineering in BUET, focused on the design and viability of bamboo as an alternative material to traditional steel structures in telecommunications.
Professor Dr. Syed Ishtiaq Ahmad said, “Feasibility studies showed that bamboo is a good material choice for telecoms tower due to its properties. We thank edotco for believing in such an initiative that contributes to nation building and conservation of the environment.”
Studies indicated that untreated bamboo has the ability to bear the weight of concrete while possessing the rigidity and tensile strength to support its own weight, making it a material for telecom structure.
It can withstand gusts of up to 210km/h, with an expected lifespan of approximately 10 years with proper maintenance. A bamboo tower takes around 12 days to construct, and consumes less energy to manufacture compared to traditional steel towers. The structure has a capacity to house up to 8 antennas at a time, enabling co-location.
As an added bonus, bamboo being inherently light, allows for easy transportation and installation of structures on rooftops without putting any additional stress on the building. The deployed structure underwent a chemical treatment as a measure to protect it from termite and mould attacks as well as adverse climate conditions. To ensure the successful deployment of the bamboo telecoms tower, edotco has trailed the unique solution at an experimental demo site in Kanchpur, Dhaka last December.
Speaking on the occasion, BTRC Chairman Dr Shahjahan Mahmood said separate tower sharing guideline is being formulated to segregate different telecom services.
Mentioning that the mobile phone operators have been providing different type of services, he said: “Very soon they (operators) would not be allowed to offer this type of services such as tower.”
The Chairman said if the innovation of bamboo tower becomes successful, incentive would be offered for the home grown technology.
Edotco intended to roll out more bamboo structures as proof of concepts (POC) in several other areas in Dhaka in 2017, and edotco will take this solution to other markets where edotco operates and where bamboo resources are available by 2018.
“The bamboo telecoms tower is our latest innovation which we conceptualized utilizing natural, sustainable resources to build telecommunications infrastructure to lessen the impact on the environment,” said Suresh Sidhu, CEO of edotco Group.
“We are pleased that we have developed this solution in partnership with BUET, and hope we can continue to collaborate in other areas,” he said, adding, “It’s also testament to the quality of human capital in Bangladesh that we were able to pioneer this in Dhaka.”
Source: BSS
