Figure 1-1: Classic TDMA 3x3
| Licensee | Call Sign | Block | SID(s) | Market | MTSO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T Wireless PCS, L.L.C. | KNLF220 | B | 4196 | MTA010-1 (Washington-Baltimore) | ``Arlington 2`` |
| WPOK289 | MTA010-4 (Washington-Baltimore) | ||||
| KNLF245 | A | 1645 | MTA023-5 (Richmond-Norfolk) | Norfolk, Va |
AT&T Wireless operates an IS-136 D-AMPS (TDMA) network with a GSM overlay. In Virginia AT&T Wireless only operates as far south as the Fredericksburg /Stafford Co. line and west to the Fauquier/Warren Co. line. The rest of Virginia is handled by the last independent SunCom affiliate Triton PCS. Despite this footprint AT&T Wireless does own a number of cell sites in the SE Virginia area, specifically the Norfolk portion of the Norfolk-Richmond BTA. However, Norfolk area operations are marketed under the SunCom brand and operated by Triton PCS. Starting from late 2001 SunCom has taken over the buildout and exapnsion of the Norfolk-Richmond BTA.
Update: AT&T Wireless no longer exists. The company is now part of a series of carriers that make up Cingular Wireless. The "shared" Norfolk sites and licenses were transfered over during the AT&T Wireless buyout and the remaining SunCom Virginia assets "Cingularized" with a large market swap between Triton PCS.
Note: the following information applies only to AT&T Wireless PCS operations!
With few exceptions (there's only been one) AT&T Wireless TDMA/GSM sites uses long slender white antenna attached in groups of three evenly spaced antenna per sector. GSM only sites (any new sites built from mid-2002 onward) use only one antenna per sector, usually mounted flush to the antenna structure. GSM only sites seem to use antenna from EMS Wireless who is a popular vendor with VoiceStream. The vendor for the TDMA/GSM sites is unknown but thought to be EMS Wireless or Andrew. Older Norfolk market sites that have not undergone an antenna swapout have the sector labels at the base of each antenna. In Figure 1-1, there is a B sticker at the bottom of each antenna denoting this side as the beta sector.
Figure 1-1: Classic TDMA 3x3
AT&T Wireless has standardized on Ericsson BTS electronics. In the Norfolk market the BTS electronics are housed in a medium sized brown shelter with an exposed aggregrate finish. These shelters are manufactured by Fibrebond (Fig. 2-1). Very old Norfolk market sites use a small white smooth metal finished shelter fabricated by Flextronics (Fig. 2-2). These are mostly rooftop or transmission tower sites. In the northern markets (Stafford County north to at least Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey) the Ericsson RBS electronics are packaged in a Flextronics UBS4000 enclosure (Fig. 2-3, formerly manufactured by Chatam). Cabinetized sites that have undergone a GSM overlay are paired with an Ericsson RBS 2106 cabinet (Fig. 2-4). GSM only sites utilize a single Ericsson RBS 2106 cabinet (Fig. 2-5). In some rare cases the TDMA electronics are housed in an Ericsson RBS 884 Macro TDMA cabinet (Fig. 2-6). These are mostly Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. rooftop installations. Additionally, in the Washington/Baltimore market many sites are housed in medium, longish sheltered sites. Washingto/Baltimore shetler examples are coming.
Figure 2-3: Flextronics UBS4000
In both the Norfolk and northern markets AT&T Wireless is very consistent in marking their sites. The type of marking varies based on site type/age and market. In the Norfolk market sites are marked with two stickers on the front door of the electronics shelter. One sticker is the FCC call sign the site operates under and the other features boilerplate vanadlism/trespassing verbage (Fig. 3-1). Unlike Norfolk market sites, sites in the northern markets feature Site ID information. Newer TDMA sites in the Washington/Baltimore network that are housed in a shelter have a sign drilled to the front door (Fig. 3-2). GSM only sites in northern markets have a largish sign afixed to the Ericsson RBS 2106 cabinet. (Fig. 3-3). Norfolk market sites feature an additional sticker which contains the FCC antenna structure registration number (Fig. 3-4), where applicable.
Figures 3-2 and 3-4 contain the sites GSM Cell ID (CID) number as well as site name. GSM only sites utilize a combination of a psuedo-CLLI code and the GSM CID to make up the site number. The switch CLLI consists of the first four character of the site number followed by two letters for the state the site is located in and terminated with the four digit GSM CID of the site (GSM only sites on the east coast have four digit CIDs). New TDMA sites also contain the sites GSM CID. In Figure 3-2 the CID is prefixed with a letter and and followed by the site name. The meaning of the alphabetic prefix is unknown.
Figure 3-1: Norfolk market signage
Figure 3-3: GSM only site Site ID sign