Project Report

On

TELECOM TOWER - CIVIL WORKS & FULL

TURNKEY
Industrial Internship

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Mr Ashish Kashyap Ishaan Saini
Faculty Guide A2315814095
Department of ECE B.Tech CE
ASET (2014 2018)

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DECLARATION

I, Ishaan Saini, student of Amity School of Engineering & Technology, Amity

University, Noida, hereby declare that I have completed my project titled Telecom
Towers - Civil Works & Full Turnkey in the academic year 2017 under the organization
named ZNA Infra Private Limited. The information submitted herein is true and original
to the best of my knowledge.

Ishaan Saini
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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr.Ishaan Saini, student of B.tech-Civil has carried out the work
presented in the project of the summer internship entitled "Telecom Tower - Civil Works
& Full Turnkey" as a part of third year program of Bachelor of Technology in Civil
Engineering from Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh under my supervision.

Faculty Guide
Mr. Ashish Kumar Kashyap
Assistant Professor
ASET, AUUP
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express my deep sense of gratitude to my industry guides Mr. Susheel Singh and Mr.
J.P Singh for their expert guidance, stimulating discussions as well as continued impetus
throughout the period of this project.

I wish to thank my group partners with whom I worked, interacted and insight helped me
further increasing my knowledge and understanding the study of this report.

With a deep sense of gratitude, I express my sincere thanks to our co-supervisor for his
persistent encouragement, inspiration and help. His concern and constant support
encouraged me to work harder to complete this task. My words can never suffice enough,
to show our regards and indebtedness to our parents.

I would like to apologize and convey my heartiest thanks to all whose names
inadvertently left out. Last but not the least, I feel very happy to convey my thanks to all
the participants who have formed the building blocks of this work.
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ABSTRACT

In this project the objective was to study and understand the three verticals i.e., tower,
power and O&M of telecom infrastructure industry with focus on tower vertical. Tower
sites make sure the GSM coverage in that area is sufficient and here at ZNA we pride on
the fact that we make the most economical towers by coming up with innovative designs
for both towers and its foundations to reduce the capital expenditure as well as the
operational expenditure . The construction and the efforts that go behind getting them up
and running is the main focus of this study. In order to get a practical experience on what
really goes behind an ongoing Tower site, RFPs of ETISALAT, MTN, OOREDOO
were studied, its shipping terms and other lists were also analysed.

Before implementing any infrastructure related project it is very important that all the
costs that go behind are well understood and listed exhaustively. This project discusses
not only the telecom infrastructure under technological perspective but also tries to
capture the economical essence of it.
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CONTENTS

S. No. Topic Page No.

1. Abstract 04
2. Summary 08
3. CHAPTER - 1 09
- Zamil Industrial 09
- Zamil Infra 11
- Achievements 14

4. CHAPTER - 2 15
- Introduction to Telecom Towers 15
- Design of Towers 17
- Active Equipment 19

5. CHAPTER - 3 20
6. CHAPTER - 4 23
- Drilled Foundation 24
- Workability 27

7. CHAPTER - 5 28
- Tower Member Design 28

8. CHAPTER - 6 30
- Conclusion 30
9. References 31
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LIST OF FIGURES

S. No. Name Page No.

1. Zamil Industrial 10

2. Line of Businesses 11

3. Success Stories 14

4. Table of Price Estimates 16

5. Table of Tower Specs 17

6. OFF/Bad Grid Estimation 21

7. Generator Cost 22

8. Design Parameter for Soil 23

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SUMMARY

With ongoing progress in ICT sector, telecom infrastructure industry remains the
Hotbed for huge investments. The infrastructure that goes behind getting those signal
bars on our cell phone is in itself a huge industry. The entire journey starts in one part of
the world and ends in super specialized factories in another. Telecom infrastructure in
itself is a wide term comprising of towers, power, civil-work, BTS and services. The type
of infrastructure in a country really depends on the kind of GSM technology, weather
conditions etc. There are lots of factors that go behind setting up a cell site before it starts
radiating, towers for instance come in all shapes and Sizes and that really affects the
money that goes behind getting it fabricated.

When it comes to revenues for MNOs or Tower Companies, what they are looking for is
someone with innovative ideas which can help reduce their operational and capital
expenditure by providing them with the most economical tower. And the tower cost is
reduced by coming up with better tower designs, better foundation designs and an
all-round understanding of how the game works. At ZNA Infra, I wasnt just taught the
technical know-how but the processes which happen at the back-end and the deals that
have to be brokered at the initial stages making it an engaging, learning through practice
and an all-round developing training experience for me.
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CHAPTER 1

1.1. Zamil Industrial

Zamil Industrial was started in 1998 and is headquartered in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Its
net worth is 8 billion USD. It is one of the leading manufacturing and fabrication group
that provides products and services in the construction field. Its product portfolio includes
pre-engineered steel buildings (PEB), structural steel products, air conditioning systems,
air cooled heat exchangers and utility services, process equipment, transmission and
telecom towers, open web joists and steel decks, process furnaces products, aerated and
precast concrete products, architectural glass processing, fibreglass insulation and
engineered plastic foam solutions. It fabricates more than 700,000 metric tonnes of steel
annually.
Zamil Industrial is backed up by more than 10,000 working hands in 55 countries and has
an experience in doing business in more than 90 countries. Zamil Industrial derives 30%
of its revenues from outside Saudi Arabia. Its manufacturing centres are located in UAE,
Saudi Arabia, India, Vietnam, Austria, Egypt and Italy.
It is a public listed investment company now and is making huge leaps in various markets
all around the globe. Zamil simply put does not want most of it, but all of it. Zamil
Industrial has entered and pioneered in the STEEL, HVAC, INSULATION and
CONCRETE business sectors. Zamil Industrials vision since its inception has been to
become an industry leader and win the markets and stakeholders trust through
competence and upholding the tradition of mutual prosperity.
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Fig No.1: Zamil Industrial

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1.2. ZAMIL INFRA

The foundation stone of this company was laid in the year 2008 by Zamil Group to
particularly attend the passive needs of the telecom industry as well as other infra
projects.

The company has got its registered offices in Bahrain, Dubai, Nepal, Bangladesh, and
Mauritius and in more than 21 African countries.

Zamil Infra is a USD 250 million company, one of the leading players in infrastructure
related to telecom and power projects. Started with establishing its foothold in the Indian
telecom infrastructure space as a Turnkey (TSP) and Full Turnkey (FTK) Service
provider. The company have achievements of successful execution of various telecom
passive infrastructure roll outs for more than 3,000 plus sites in diversified locations
which includes terrains of Middle East, Africa, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Mauritius.
Today, with growing workforce of more than 1500 experienced and highly skilled
professionals.

Fig No. 2: Zamil Infra line of business

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1.3. Zamil Infra Offerings

Towers Design and Supplies:

3 Legged / 4 Legged Tower Supplies: Zamil Infra is a subsidiary of Zamil

Industrial based in Bahrain which has yet another subsidiary which goes by name
Zamil Steel. Zamil steel specializes in steel fabrication with an annual capacity of
about 700,000 metric tons. Due to economies of scale the towers provided by
Zamil infra are very economical. In addition to tower fabrication, Zamil Infra also
has an in-house team of designers who make very efficient tower designs in order
to reduce the cost as much as possible.
Monopoles / Camouflage Poles: Unlike normal lattice towers these are the ones
which need specialized techniques to manufacture and Zamil infra has supplied
many camouflaged towers like Palm Tree, Lamp pole, etc. in countries like
Dubai, Malaysia etc.,.
Tower Load Validation: It is a specialized service, majorly required by Towercos
who need to add tenants on the towers. When, more tenants (more antennas) are
to be added on a tower, they need to be strengthened and Zamil Infra with so
many years in its bag can provide this service.

Full Turnkey:

Civil Work & Tower Erection: Zamil Infra is fully capable of providing overall
civil solution for implementing the passive infrastructure for the telecom sites.
They have an expertise in civil foundation design and are thus able to reduce the
CAPEX for the client very effectively. In addition to that they also provide
solutions like shelter construction, tower erection and fencing for a site.
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Telecom Implementation: Services like BTS installation and antenna loading on

the tower can be outsourced to Zamil Infra as they are fully capable of
implementing the active part of telecom infrastructure as well.
Solar EPC services: As the market trend is moving towards renewable sources of
energy, Zamil Infra has partnership with many solar panel manufacturers like
DuPont, Kyocera, etc. and they have successfully implemented 22 MW power
plants in region of Gujarat and Haryana. They provide overall Engineering,
Procurement and Construction services in solar.

Managed Services:

Field level Maintenance: Strong internal processes to make sure that OPEX of
MNO is reduced over time.
DG Maintenance and Fuel Filling: Dedicated team of technicians specializing in
DG services.

Energy and Power Solutions:

Telecom Solar: As an alternative source of energy and in order to reduce DG run

hours, MNOs today prefer some solar options to be installed in addition to DG
sets. This helps in reducing the overall fuel cost and thus the OPEX that MNO
has to bear otherwise.
Hybrid Solutions: Zamil Infra specializes in providing hybrid solutions so that the
cell sites are able to run on multiple power sources like Solar, DG, and Power
grid. This is done in order to make a cell site more efficient.
Grid Tie Solar (Mega watt)
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1.4. Achievements of Zamil Infra

(Fig 3. Success Stories)

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CHAPTER - 2

2.1. Introduction to Telecom Towers

Mobile Phone Towers are broadly steel structures constructed on small land sites in
order to accommodate mobile network operators. These mobile network operators use
these sites to install their antennas and Base Transceiver Station (BTS) for telephony,
mobile data, etc. Cell towers are typically fabricated by steel fabricators such as Zamil
Steel based on the design provided by the client.

The antennas on the cell towers (steel structures) are called cell sites, but more or less a
cell site can be more accurately defined as the range of area covered by the antenna of
the MNO and the subscribers in that area being serviced in that area. In order to provide
service to more and more subscribers the MNOs install more towers in an area.

There are 5 main types of towers,

a) Monopole Tower: It is a single steel tube generally between 30m to 40m. The
antennas are loaded outside the tower. These are expensive.
b) Lattice Tower: It is also called self-support tower (SST). These towers are
generally designed specifically as per the requirement of the client. These towers
are generally 40m to 60m high. Based on location these towers can be further
classified as roof top towers or ground based towers.
c) Guyed Mast Towers: These structures consist of a thin tubular structure supported
by ropes. They occupy larger areas but are very cheap as compared to the other
towers. They are generally 90m and higher.
d) Camouflaged Towers: These are special towers generally covered by reinforced
glass plastic, they are used in order to satisfy the zoning regulations. They consist
of antennas generally camouflaged in structures like Air conditioners, palm trees,
etc.
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Based on Structure and number of Legs: Towers can made up angular structures or
tubular structures. In case of lattice towers specifically they can be 3 legged or 4 legged.
An appropriate combination is chosen by the customer. Most economical tower is 3
legged tubular.

2.2. Price Estimation of Towers

Type of Tower Price Per unit (USD)

GBT $10,000.00

RTT $4,500.00

Minimast $7,000.00

Monopole $14,000.00

Unipole $4,000.00

Rapole $4,000.00

Lampole $7,000.00

Table No. 1: Price estimates for different types of towers

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2.3. Design of Tubular & Angular Towers

Table No. 2: Specification of towers based on height

3-Legged Angular Towers:

All Leg members are E350 as per IS2062,
All other members and plates as E250 as per IS2062,
Bolts grade of 8.8.

3-Leggned Tubular Towers:

All Tubes are YST310 as per IS1161,
All Plates are grade of E250 as per IS2062,
Bolts grade of 8.8.
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Zamil Infra offers lattice tubular towers as cost effective solution to angular towers
because weight of tubular towers is 17-25% less than that of angular towers and the
concrete foundation volume for tubular towers is comparatively less than that required for
angular towers making it more effective.

Design Basis for two proposed options - 3 legged Tubular & 3 legged Angular
Codes: Designed as per ANSI/TIA-222-G
Factor of safety: As per ANSI/TIA-222-G
Antenna loading: As per customer specification
Design Wind speed: 130, 160, 195 & 225 kmph corresponds to 3sec gust
Wind details: Structure class II, Exposure category C, Topographic category I
Twist & Sway: Max. 0.5o at operational wind speed (75% of design wind speed)
Dead load & live loads: Tower structure, ladder, Platforms and antennas
Earth quake loads: Governing load between wind & earthquake will be
considered for analysis. Critical load combination for tower analysis as per
222-G.

2.4. Modern Age Towers

Rapid Deployment Units (RDU)

As the name suggests itself, its a mobile radio base station mostly used for strategic and
rapid expansion of cellular networks across the region. The advantage of using this is that
it requires no foundation works and can be easily installed or removed within 24 hours.
It can have a height of around 30 metres mostly and is mostly used as temporary base
station until lattice or rooftop towers or any other permanent tower is established.
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Cell on Wheel (COW)

These are also advanced modern day tower used for temporary services. In this type of
tower the telecom infrastructure are placed on trailers which are approved for road use
and are generally placed on trucks which are capable of towing loads up to 3500kgs.
These towers can provide fully operational service within one day of establishment and is
more suitable for areas which are restricted due to accessibility problems.

2.5. Active Equipment

Other passive equipment on a tower site may include Diesel Generators, Cables, Solar
Panels and shelters.
In addition to these passive equipment following active equipment are also present at a
given site,

1. The GSM Antenna: These are long white colored structures loaded on the tower,
they allow the subscribers to be connected to the mobile network. The radio
waves emanate out of these and they are responsible for the coverage of a mobile
tower.
2. The Microwave Dish: It is a large round antenna that is used for a particularly
connecting the mobile towers and is also used commonly used for backhaul.
3. Base Transceiver Station: It is an enclosure generally consisting network
equipment like routers and switches. Nowadays, instead of shelters, precision AC
units are used in order to enclose these devices.
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CHAPTER - 3

3.1. Energy Requirement for a Telecom Site

As the MNOs are implementing the 3G and 4G technology the energy consumption for
the cell sites are increasing exponentially. Also, as the cell size is reducing due to the
increasing data bandwidths, more and more cells are being implemented. BTS generally
operates at 48 V and in order to keep a cell site up and running it is mandatory to make
sure that energy supply is available 24 x 7. In addition to the BTS, indoor cooling alone
consumes about 50% of the total power at tower.
Most of the energy requirements for a cell site are taken care by a local power gird and
hence improving efficiency, reliability and scalability in the tower systems is very
important. It is really important to note a fact that about 0.5% of the global energy
supply is consumed by the mobile communications infrastructure.
The main sources of power for these mobile BTS vary regionally and can generally be
categorized into three broad buckets:

Reliable grid power: AC mains or grid power can reliably serve as the main power
supply.
Bad-grid power: despite access to AC mains, the infrastructure is subjected to
erratic, but consistent brown-out (fluctuating voltage) and/or black-outs (total
power loss).
Off-grid power: no access to AC mains power.
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(Table No. 3: Estimation of Off-Grid/Bad Grid for tower sites)

3.2. Alternate Sources for Telecom Sites

In addition to reliance on power grids the cell sites are also operated using alternative
sources of energy like,
Diesel generators
Solar Power solution
Wind turbines
Battery Units

One problem in using these alternative sources of energy are that they add on to the
operational costs (OP-EX). Diesel generator for instance require certain amount of fuel in
order to keep running and more the number of run hours would mean that more fuel cost
would be required in order to keep the site radiating. In addition to the fuel cost, diesel
gen sets also requires corrective and preventive maintenance from time to time and add
on further to the cost.
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Type of generator 10kva/1ph 15kva/1ph 20kva/1ph 25kva/1ph

Cost per Unit $9,300.00 $9,700.00 $10,000.00 $10,600.00

(USD)

Cost per Service $100.00 $120.00 $130.00 $170.00

(USD)

(Table No. 4: Estimated cost of generator unit and service)

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CHAPTER - 4

4.1. Foundations

4.1.1. Soil and Rock Classification

a) Type 1 soils: competent soil with equal or better consistency than one
would encounter in stiff cohesive soils or dense cohesion less soil above the
water table. Combinations of undrained shear strength and internal angle of
friction, with minimum of 80kn/m2 and 30 degree. Minimum specific weight
should not be less than 18kn/m2.
b) Type 2 soils: a less competent soil than type 1 with equal or weaker
consistency. The minimum undrained shear strength shall be 40kn/m2 and
minimum natural specific weight shall not be less than 16kn/m2.
c) Type 3 soils: dry loose cohesionless soil or very soft to soft cohesive soil.
d) Type 4 soils: submerged cohesionless and cohesive soils. This includes all
soils below the water table.

Characteristic Unit Type 1 Type 2 Type 3 Type 4

Minimum soil bearing pressure kPa 300 150 100 50

Frustum angle for strain towers degrees 25 15 0 0
Density of Backfill Kg/m3 1800 1600 1400 1000
Density of reinforced concrete Kg/m3 2400 2400 2400 1500

(Table No. 5: Design parameters of different type of soil)

4.1.2. Soil and rock Tests

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In addition to required investigation of soil and rock, tests are also to be carried out by the
contractor in the presence of Project Manager.

Standard Penetration tests or Dutch Cone penetrometer tests.

Laboratory/Site tests to determine soil friction angles cohesion values.
Laboratory tests to determine stress strain modules of soils and rocks.
Laboratory test to determine the unit weight of soils.
Laboratory tests to determine the texture of soil.

4.2. Drilled Foundations

The final design and construction of drilled foundations shall be determined by pile
tests, foundation tests or comprehensive soil/rock investigations.

1. In type 1 and type 2 soils, the skin friction values which are supposed to be
used should not be exceeding more than 80% of the ultimate friction which has
been determined from performed soil tests.
2. For a Type 1 soil, a the design degree of frustum for angle should not be more
than 30 and for angle strain towers it should be around 25 degrees. Similarly for a
type 2 soil, the degree of frustum should be around 20 for suspension towers and
15 for angle strain towers.
3. The undisturbed soils lateral resistance can be ignored in the top 300mm region
from the ground line, and can also be taken as the lesser of 100kPa or 80% of the
given permissible bearing which was determined using scientific tests from
300mm to the bottom of the pile cap. A soil bearing pressure of 200kPa in type
1 or 100kPa in type 2 soil shall be allowed under the pile cap. End bearing
components for compressive loads shall not be considered in soil replacement
type piles with a diameter less than 750mm.
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4.3. Pad and Pier Foundations

1. The minimum differential settlement should not be more than 20mm, the
foundation should be designed accordingly, the withstanding loads stated with the
dead weight of tower included at unity factor of safety, should be the maximum
resulting founsation reaction.
2. In addition, a maximum projection of 650mm of the pier and stub should be
above the ground level should be incorporated in the design. The stub over there
should only to be encased in concrete.
3. Four 12mm diameter bars shall be the required number of longitudinal bars
having a minimum yield stress of 450 mPa. The links shall be having 8mm
diameter mild steel bars having a maximum spacing equal to the smallest lateral
dimension of the section, less 100mm.
4. All faces of core where the permissible tensile stress in the concrete is exceeded
are to be adequately reinforced to prevent the development of tension cracks.
5. A maximum of 50% of the maximum leg load, either in tension or compression,
may be transferred from the steel stub angle to the concrete utilising a maximum
bond stress of 0.8 N/mm2.
6. The least lateral dimension d of a pier shall not be less than the greater of
300mm or L/6, where L is the lesser of the vertical height measured from top of
pad level to the top of concrete pier.

4.4. Concrete and Grouts

1. Concrete foundations shall be designed based upon a concrete strength of 25MPa

at 28 days.

2. Concrete mix designs shall be proportioned to obtain a minimum required

strength of 25MPa at 28 days and a target strength of 35MPa, with a maximum
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water cement ratio of 0.59. No individual 28 day concrete test cube result shall be
below 85% of the specified strength.
3. Grout mix designs for rock anchors shall be proportioned to attain a minimum
strength of 35 MPa at 28 days with any expansive additive included.

4.5. Aggregates

1. Fine aggregates shall be free from large amounts of soft, flaky or porous
particles, loam, soft shale, clay lumps or organic material.
2. Coarse aggregates up to 25,5 mm nominal size, may be single sized stone.
Coarse aggregates up to 40 mm nominal size, shall be blended consisting of two
parts by volume of single sized 20 mm stone. The content of fine material in
coarse aggregate shall be less than 10% by mass.
3. The void content of fine or coarse aggregate shall not exceed 48%. Aggregate
shall not contain any materials that are reactive with any alkali in the aggregate
itself or in the cement, the mixing water or in the water in contact with the
finished concrete.

CONCRETE TYPE COARSE AGGREGATE FINE AGGREGATE

Reinforced with OPC 0.05% 0.10%
Reinforced with SRPC 0.02% 0.05%
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4.5. Workability

The design mix workability of the concrete , as determined by the Slump Test, shall
meet the following requirements by application:

Unreinforced concrete: 25mm 75mm

Reinforced concrete for conventional foundations and pile caps: 50mm
100mm
Reinforced concrete for cast in situ piles: 100mm 150mm
Reinforced concrete for cast in situ inclined piles/anchors: 150mm
200mm

The consistency of grout mixtures shall be proportional so that the mixture is pourable.
The fine aggregate to cement ratio shall not exceed 3:1 irrespective of workability.
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CHAPTER 5

5.1. Mass of Tower and Foundation steelwork

The calculations of mass for angles and other rolled shapes shall be in accordance with
the mass per metre supplied by the steel manufacturer. All plate material shall be based
on a mass density of 7850/kg/m3. Of the above calculated mass, 3.5% of the uncoated
material shall be used for the mass of zinc coating (galvanising).

5.2. Tower Member Design

5.2.1. Definitions

L = the unsupported length of a member, without adjustment for end fixing

conditions.
r = radius of gyration
fy = minimum guaranteed yield stress/maximum allowable design stress.
ft = Tensile stress
fb = Bearing stress
ASCE = American Society of Civil Engineers.

5.2.2. Limiting L/r ratios

Leg members and main chord members in crossarm/bridge and earth conductor
peak 120
All other members carrying calculated stress 200
Redundants not carrying calculated areas 250
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5.2.3. Maximum allowable design stress

The maximum allowable design stresses for angle shapes shall be as follows:

STEEL GRADE (AS MEMBER THICKNESS fy

PER EN 10025)
S355 <= 16mm 350MPa
S355 >16mm <25mm 345MPa

Shear on unearthed portion of bolt 250 MPa

Tension on net area of bolt 400MPa
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CHAPTER 6

6.1. Conclusion

The one thing that Ill take away from this training experience is that its not just
one particular thing that needs to happen for a site to get up and running but a
plethora of things which need to happen in a structured and progressive manner to
get the work done in the most efficient and economical way possible. Its not just
the job of the design team to get the most economical foundation and tower
designs, not just the job of the logistics team to reduce inefficiencies at all stages
of the process, not just the job of the bid team to get the most out of a proposal,
and definitely not just the job of the sales department to bring in the best deals
possible but a combined effort by each department at every step of the way and to
work in sync to the best of our abilities to reach the one goal our company came
in the business for - to become market leaders (and of course mutual prosperity).

In this report electrical, electronic, civil and economical essence of a telecom tower
project has been captured. In addition to that the technological and economic aspects of
tower, power and services have also been understood in all possible details.
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REFERENCES

www.civilology.com

http://civilblog.org

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

https://www.slideshare.net/MatNik1/reinforced-slab

http://www.barc.gov.in/tenders/TechSpecACED.pdf

http://www.iitk.ac.in/nicee/EQTips/EQTip18.pdf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shear_wall