Atrebo announces the Tower Automation Alliance

Industry leaders working together for infrastructure automation

A group of telecommunications industry leaders has created a new global initiative focused on developing automation projects for TowerCos and operators.

The partnership is called the Tower Automation Alliance (TAA).

The TAA has brought together more than 100 innovators since late 2020, with founding partners including Everynet, vHive, Outlocks, and Atrebo. This team is focused on automating passive infrastructure operations and supporting operators on their path toward digital transformation.

For example, digitizing tower operations allows businesses remote visibility into tower conditions, eliminating the need for a site visit or tower climb for maintenance and optimisation. It can also improve compliance, a growing concern among telecommunications companies as they expand internationally and are required to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment.

Traditionally, telecommunications companies were focused on expanding their physical footprint with towers, building new rather than improving existing infrastructure. But changes to the industry, including 5G, new business models that rely increasingly on remote operations, and evolving consumer demands have shifted the focus of telco operators to improve efficiency and agility.

A study from Accenture noted that the “digital transformation of telcos represents a $2 trillion opportunity for industry and society,” making this a top priority for telecommunications companies, TowerCos, and service providers alike.

To support the industry as a whole in meeting these challenges, the TAA is an open alliance, offering free membership to “any MNO, TowerCo, or service provider that is eager to participate,” said Luis Del Valle, Chief Revenue Officer for Atrebo.

Even a vendor that does not specialise in infrastructure management is welcome to apply for membership on the TAA website and start to collaborate on projects.

Areas of Focus

While the overall goal of the TAA is to promote digital transformation for telco towers, there are four main areas of focus at this time. They include:

Sustainable energy: making the network more environmentally sound, improving resilience and reducing waste.

Infrastructure security: creating the tools and solutions required for managing access and security of towers remotely. This includes protecting towers from physical threats, such as vandalism and cyberthreats as well.

Digital twinning: using drones to scout sites, perform real-time construction assessment and inventory checks, conduct maintenance and QA checks, even assess physical towers to support decision-making during M&A.

Asset monitoring: creating flexible solutions to track and manage environmental conditions, fuel levels, sending alerts and tracking movable goods.

5G on the Horizon

With the looming widespread implementation of 5G technology to communications networks, businesses are focused on maximizing the opportunity to provide extremely high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity.

This is expected to increase traffic volume as well as energy consumption, further driving the need to improve efficiency. The goal of the TAA is to create a community of thought leaders to help automate processes, control costs, and identify new opportunities as part of an efficient, sustainable telecommunications network.

“In the era where the journey towards digital transformation requires a holistic solution, the importance of multiple vendors working together is essential. By working with the TAA, we are connecting with the greatest players, dedicated to help TowerCos succeed”, stated Yariv Geller, CEO of vHive.