Tower Grounding System Verified

Communication towers present a special exposure to loss from electrical surges. Antennas and other expensive, often critical, signal processing equipment (i.e., radio transceivers, computers, routers, and repeaters) are mounted on these towers. All of these connected items are at risk of damage or loss from an electrical surge that originates from a communications tower.

Unlike a typical building in which the primary exposure to a surge-related loss is through the AC power system and is often internally generated, a tower site has an increased exposure to lightning induced surges which can be from a direct or indirect strike.  The tower structure itself serves as a large lightning rod of sorts and must be properly addressed as such from a control standpoint.  In addition, the coaxial cable typically used for RF signal distribution is highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields, such as those generated by lightning, which may result in a surge simply by the influence of a nearby strike. 

The tower design should include a low resistance, low impedance grounding system. During the survey of one or more of your facilities, it was unknown if the quality of the tower grounding system had been verified recently or had the tower integrity been evaluated within the last year.  It is recommended your organization use a qualified engineer or contractor specializing in lightning protection systems to validate these safety features of the grounding system to prevent or minimize equipment damage as a result of a lightning strike.