HSDPA Tower listings

Was The "why Would You Need A List" An April Fools Day Response?

GREETINGS, vodacom3g. maybe we need to talk off line. Vodacom's 3G/HSDPA coverage is "sparse"(understatement) in many areas and thus the cells breathe badly and continuously.An outside aerial needs to be directed correctly , and the closest transmitter is not necessarily the best.So to get LOS properly knowledge of the "next closest HSDPA towers" and the direction from my receiver is critical. Was your response (Why would you need a list) really serious and technically competant? A list of the current HSDPA towers and their "Google earth" co-ordinates and a listing of the future HSDPA towers, their co-ordinates and when they are coming on line would be superb as well as the present listing.
 
Peter Ayers said:
GREETINGS, vodacom3g. maybe we need to talk off line. Vodacom's 3G/HSDPA coverage is "sparse"(understatement) in many areas and thus the cells breathe badly and continuously.An outside aerial needs to be directed correctly , and the closest transmitter is not necessarily the best.So to get LOS properly knowledge of the "next closest HSDPA towers" and the direction from my receiver is critical. Was your response (Why would you need a list) really serious and technically competant? A list of the current HSDPA towers and their "Google earth" co-ordinates and a listing of the future HSDPA towers, their co-ordinates and when they are coming on line would be superb as well as the present listing.
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No, no joke. Would like to think I'm pretty serious (mostly) and technically competent (sometimes...)

The coverage map inherently carries the tower location, by way of the coverage they provide. Giving you a list that say something like Panorama-1 will give you no extra information and does not contain parameters like geography, etc. that could influence your coverage. So you would be much better of looking at the map.

Maybe reread the original question. It just asked for a list, thus my response on why a list is needed, i.e. lets talk about the requirement itself (reason for wanting a list in the first place).

If the question was something like "I have bad coverage and bought a directional antenna. Which way should I point it?", we could discuss that.
 
If it is indeed the case that you need to point your external antennae to the "closest site" why do you need a list of 3G sites nationwide? If you have a coverage problem log it with Vodacom - they will provide you with the information you need for you specific needs.

To question Vodacom3G technical competence, who has already proven his competence on this forum, over asking a valid question why you would need such a list is preposterous. Not only do you want a list of active site but future coverage too with GPS locations - maybe Vodacom could provide you with proposed future tariff changes too?
 
3g I work in the Public tv repair sector and have available info on all Sentech transmitters and was wondering why Vodacom and other cell service providers do not supply something similar One that springs to mind is a tower in the Free State called "Scotland "
 
@ Vodacom 3G ...
It seems that the exact location of cellphone towers is treated as top secret by providers, even though Joe Public can see the things everywhere!

Here's a question .... if I gave a provider accurate (to +/- 5 m, in WSG84, Hdd.ddddd format) co-ordinates of the position I wanted to mount a directional antenna, could a provider provide me with their tower co-ords (accurate to 5 m)? I could then, using my very accurate maps, and accurate GPS, at least have a starting point in terms of where to point a directional antenna (taking into account line-of-sight obstacles).
 
I don't think the tower locations are anything top secret....

PJ, Sentech relies on 3rd parties to install antennas and obviously need to supply the info where these installers must point the antennas.

This has never been needed with the cellular companies, there just was no external antennas available and if cell-repeaters are needed, Vodacom would install it themselves.

Obviously it's now changing with companies like Poynting selling antennas directly, so we'll probably put a process in place.

atomcrusher, we've had a number of these requests and always help. It can only benefit Vodacom.

I've been toying with the GoogleEarth idea.

PM me your co-ords on GoogleEarth or send me a GoogleEarth place-marker and I'll get the relevant people to chat to you. I know they'd prefer to rather speak with you instead of just sending you a location. They'll want to make sure they understand all the parameters first and will then help you point the antenna.
 
vodacom3g said:
I've been toying with the GoogleEarth idea.

PM me your co-ords on GoogleEarth or send me a GoogleEarth place-marker and I'll get the relevant people to chat to you. I know they'd prefer to rather speak with you instead of just sending you a location.
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Your guys (i.e. VC) have been more than helpful to me in the past, and they have (thanks to your input) already been to my home, and even offered to test an external antenna 'in situ' .... I have really appreciated VC for that.

But, my contract with MTN expires end-this month, and I need to make a decision soon as to which provider I will go with. My dilemma is that I have good, consistent, 3G reception, at my home via MTN .... the VC techies who visited my home, confirmed I would need an external antenna (something I don't currently need with MTN ... hence my dilemma as to who I should port to, if at all :confused: )

Re: your Google Earth thinking ... it would work really well but for the inherent inaccuracy of GE ... due to spatial error (or error of parallax) a place mark on GE can be about 10 - 20 metres out of true position in GE.

When you live in a complex (as I do) with buildings all around, an accurate fix is essential to get line of sight between an external antenna and the cellphone tower - and this is difficult with other buildings / trees, etc in the way.

Just as a matter of interest I'll PM a GE *.kmz file to you, but the GE images where I live are out of date, as the open area to the NW of my place mark does not show the new development (new town house complex) that now occupies the vacant land shown on the GE image.

It would help me greatly to decide on providers if I could get a fairly accurate fix on VC tower positions ... any chance you could PM me the HSDPA-ready VC tower positions, as place marks in GE? I can see couple of towers from my upstairs rooms, but don't know who they belong to, or if they are HSDPA enabled.
 
I am not sure why Vodacom (through the Vodacom 3G rep on this website) was very reluctant to provide any information regarding a list of the current HSDPA towers and their "Google earth" co-ordinates . I have carefully perused the Vodacom website, and if one goes to the Tower Safety Section , and get to the EMF section (http://www.vodamap.net/vodacomemf/) and go systematically through the maps ( which are pretty good) , there is enough information in the data on the maps ( using the EMF readings ) to take a "good stab" if ( in midyear 2006) there were or were not UMTS (3G) transmissions based on the EMF readings in the UMTS band given as a % of ICNIRP. This is tedious and time consuming but gives the information which Vodacom seem to treat as top secret. Interestingly enough the data as such is not available from the Vodacom website in , for example "tabular format" or a PDF or and Excel spreadsheet in spite of a section being shown that would appear to make this available ( maybe this is a web site problem). But if you want to find what I needed to find and what the Vodacom people don't seem to want to share go to the vodacom website at http://www.vodamap.net/vodacomemf/ and it is freely available in the public domain. (Historical stuff and not the future). It has been very helpful and I have now have a "vector diagram of the secret stuff " on excellent maps that Vodacom provide. If anyone would like the information for around 20 Vodacom Base Stations in the Hospital Bend to Kenilworth areas of Cape Town I have this available ( in an Excel spreadsheet). It is not perfect but works for me. (The Poynting LPDA-A0021 on a mast 6m above grade takes the signal strength from 1 bar to 3 bars and means one can actually use the power of Vodacom's 3G/HSPDA system ... until everyone gets aerials and the cells start to breath deeply again)
 
Obviously the info is accessible - just not in the exact format that some forumites would like it, and I'm sure that v3g has better things to do than create one or more Google Earth maps pin-pointing the location of more than 2000 HSDPA base-stations - especially considering that very few Vodacom HSDPA customers actually need to put up an external antenna when put into context with the tens of thousands of HSDPA customers that are either mostly mobile or otherwise get a stable enough signal from a fixed location...

As suggested by v3g, contact the Data Helpdesk [155] or [email protected] and ask for some help in getting an external antenna pointing in an optimal direction...
 
Peter Ayers said:
I am not sure why Vodacom (through the Vodacom 3G rep on this website) was very reluctant to provide any information regarding a list of the current HSDPA towers and their "Google earth" co-ordinates .
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Peter, just went through my PM inbox and can't see any messages from you. When did you send me the info as per my post, on the 2nd of April, in this thread? Why do you think Vodacom and myself don't want to help?

If you need to know the co-ord of towers in your area, we'll gladly supply it and even help you set up an antenna.

Putting up a list of a list of all towers is not going to address the actual requirement, i.e. that of getting the best coverage. In every region the local radio guys will know which is the better tower for you to connect to, and it's not necessarily going to be the closest one.

So they'll rather work with you to get it sorted.
 
atomcrusher said:
Just as a matter of interest I'll PM a GE *.kmz file to you, but the GE images where I live are out of date, as the open area to the NW of my place mark does not show the new development (new town house complex) that now occupies the vacant land shown on the GE image.
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BTW, I did get your PM and did send you an e-mail addy, but never got the placemarker. Did you send it?
 
Vodacom Tower listings?

Anybody bored enough to do this?
I sorted my 3G, HSDPA problems going through the motions.

If you have a directional yagi and situated 10 Km's out of town it does not help to pan your antenna around on a 6 meter pole.
Rather search for it and then point it!

http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1167646/an/0/page/0#1167646
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1167667/an/0/page/0#1167667
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1167665/an/0/page/0#1167665
http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/1167661/an/0/page/0#1167661

Enjoy!
I will try to get this updated on Google Earth as time passes......http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/images/smilies/wink.gif
;)
 
PJG777ZN said:
Is there a list of HSDPA Towers available to Joe Public ?
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A lot of the answers here are rather disingenuous.

Tower location can be very sensitive information for competitors. All of the networks strive to locate one of their towers in a prime place to get max usage + max coverage. U will never get a list of exact locations out of any network.
 
Starstreak said:
A lot of the answers here are rather disingenuous.

Tower location can be very sensitive information for competitors. All of the networks strive to locate one of their towers in a prime place to get max usage + max coverage. U will never get a list of exact locations out of any network.
Click to expand...
I have to point out that that is absolute BS, you don't know what you're talking about.

Once a base-station has been constructed, the base-station is in fact very visible and is in the public domain.

Base-stations are not missile silos hidden underground, one can drive past base-stations and record their GPS co-ords if you don't have anything better to do with your time.
 
Starstreak said:
A lot of the answers here are rather disingenuous.

Tower location can be very sensitive information for competitors. All of the networks strive to locate one of their towers in a prime place to get max usage + max coverage. U will never get a list of exact locations out of any network.
Click to expand...

I drive past about 4 Base Stations on my way to work and back, both from MTN and Vodacom, and its in areas that i know of.

Even when i go visit the misses, i walk by one(i'm literally standing underneath it - all that seperates me and the tower is a wall).
 
ic said:
I have to point out that that is absolute BS, you don't know what you're talking about.

Once a base-station has been constructed, the base-station is in fact very visible and is in the public domain.

Base-stations are not missile silos hidden underground, one can drive past base-stations and record their GPS co-ords if you don't have anything better to do with your time.
Click to expand...
How do i recognise by looking which network it belongs to? Assuming i know what a GSM aerial looks like. u cant and it would take a lot of time to find out. Lets see Vodacom publish a list incl coords on this forum and well see whos BS or not!
 
Starstreak said:
How do i recognise by looking which network it belongs to? Assuming i know what a GSM aerial looks like. u cant and it would take a lot of time to find out. Lets see Vodacom publish a list incl coords on this forum and well see whos BS or not!
Click to expand...

You recognize it by the BIG sticker on the big box next to the tower(what looks to be the power supply), that says either Vodacom or MTN :)

EDIT: I think i may have seen a noticeable difference between MTN and Vodacom Towers, where Vodacom's towers cables are concealed by a cylinder type of covering and MTN's cables you can see clearly. Maybe V3G can confirm?
 
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