Cell Tower Survey FAQ
Here is a list of common questions we get about our Cellular Tower Surveys.
- I saw a tower closer to me that you didn’t put on my survey. Why?
- We map towers from your supplied location based on a clear line of sight. There may be closer towers to you without a clear line of sight (blocked by terrain), but we only use those if no other tower is in range.
- We map towers from your supplied location based on a clear line of sight. There may be closer towers to you without a clear line of sight (blocked by terrain), but we only use those if no other tower is in range.
- What cellular bands are on my tower(s)?
- We do not provide frequency “bands” on each tower. It is nearly impossible to keep up with which bands are active at any given time. Each carrier has a NOC (network operations center) and carrier engineers can change / move / add bands via software at any moment. This is based on usage. If one band is under used, they may move it to a nearby tower.
There are popular resources that you can use try to find this information. CellMapper is a very popular crowd sourced info site for doing this. We do not offer the service to do this for you.
- We do not provide frequency “bands” on each tower. It is nearly impossible to keep up with which bands are active at any given time. Each carrier has a NOC (network operations center) and carrier engineers can change / move / add bands via software at any moment. This is based on usage. If one band is under used, they may move it to a nearby tower.
- Why are two of my towers shown in the same location?
- Many towers have more than one carrier present. If there is not a tower in range, you may very well get a survey with two or even three carriers on the same tower. We try to find other towers in range but that is sometimes impossible.
- Many towers have more than one carrier present. If there is not a tower in range, you may very well get a survey with two or even three carriers on the same tower. We try to find other towers in range but that is sometimes impossible.
- What does the “Height of Antennas” option mean? Why does this matter?
- The “Height of Antennas” option is the approximate height you will be placing your cellular hotspot/routers antennas. If you are simply placing your hotspot on a shelf, then the height of that shelf, from the ground floor, would be your answer. If you are installing high powered outdoor antennas, then the height that you plan on installing those antennas from the ground level would be your answer.
We attempt to recommend your home antenna heights for best performance. We base this on terrain and the “Fresnel Zone”, which provides the best data transfer performance. We give you a crash course on Fresnel Zones in each PDF survey report.
- The “Height of Antennas” option is the approximate height you will be placing your cellular hotspot/routers antennas. If you are simply placing your hotspot on a shelf, then the height of that shelf, from the ground floor, would be your answer. If you are installing high powered outdoor antennas, then the height that you plan on installing those antennas from the ground level would be your answer.
- Does my tower have 5G?
- 5G is very new and information about which carrier towers are 5G capable is slow to roll out. At this point we cannot guarantee that we can obtain that info, or at least 100% reliable information. As time goes on, it will be easier to determine.
- 5G is very new and information about which carrier towers are 5G capable is slow to roll out. At this point we cannot guarantee that we can obtain that info, or at least 100% reliable information. As time goes on, it will be easier to determine.
- Where is the Sprint option?
- Sprint towers are getting much harder to identify, as T-Mobile has begun to aggressively decommissioning and repurposing the Sprint network. Most of the Sprint customers that we have spoken with have verified that they now have access to T-Mobiles bands. If you use a Sprint based service you should gain benefit from the T-Mobile option, but we no longer offer Sprint as an option.
- Sprint towers are getting much harder to identify, as T-Mobile has begun to aggressively decommissioning and repurposing the Sprint network. Most of the Sprint customers that we have spoken with have verified that they now have access to T-Mobiles bands. If you use a Sprint based service you should gain benefit from the T-Mobile option, but we no longer offer Sprint as an option.
- What information is included on the Report?
- Our PDF format report contains general information on each tower to include:
- Carrier
- Distance in Miles from the users location
- Heading in Degrees from the users location
- Latitude
- Longitude
- Elevation at Sea Level
- Tower Height
- Line of Sight (with the Tower)
- Type of Obstructions (if any)
- The information is conveniently compiled on the first page of the report.
- Our PDF format report contains general information on each tower to include:
- What does your Cell Tower Survey help me do?
- Our Cellular Tower Survey Reports help mitigate the hassles with determining what Cellular Carriers are available at a specific location, their headings, distance, elevation and other pertinent information.
- The report can assist in:
- Determining the closest towers to a location for selecting the best cellular tower and carrier
- Selecting an antenna that is compatible with the distance, heights and terrain
- Determining if the height of an antenna mask/tower will obtain Line of Sight with a cellular tower
- Knowing the exact heading to use for aiming a directional antenna
- The Reports are offered in two levels of service:
- PDF with Satellite Images
- PDF with Satellite Images and KMZ Google Earth file
- Our Cellular Tower Survey Reports help mitigate the hassles with determining what Cellular Carriers are available at a specific location, their headings, distance, elevation and other pertinent information.
- How do I get my Cellular Tower Survey Report?
- Survey Reports are prepared and delivered via email within two business days. Please direct all survey inquiries to: [email protected]
- Survey Reports are prepared and delivered via email within two business days. Please direct all survey inquiries to: [email protected]
- What do I do after I get my Cellular Tower Survey Report?
- You can reach out to us at anytime via email for any further questions you may have, including advice on equipment that may help you at your specific location.
- Head over to our post survey report page for more information
Disclaimer: Network carriers are constantly constructing and modifying towers to accommodate new services, frequencies and bands. All efforts are made to ensure the accuracy of our survey reports are based on the most current available data.
If you have other questions, not answered here, please reach out to us and ask anything you need to know about our Cellular Tower Survey. Maybe your questions will be added to this help doc to help others who may have the same questions.
