Figure 2-1: Nortel Univity GSM S12000
Figure 2-2: Dual Nortel Univity GSM S12000
Figure 2-4: Anntena controller
| Licensee | Call Sign | Block | MNC | Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BellSouth Personal Communications, L.L.C. | KNLF213 | B | 310-15 | MTA006-9 - Charlotte-Greensboro-Greenville, NC |
BellSouth Mobility DCS (Digital Communication System I believe) was a rather gutsy PCS GSM only service offered by BellSouth. As such the service area which consisted primarily of the Carolinas and the eastern parts of TN and GA (and I believe extreme SW VA) was isolated from the prexisting BellSouth Mobility TDMA network based out of Atlanta. This is moot with the creation of Cingular Wireless and the advent of GSM base station equipment for the cellular band (commonly called GSM 850). However, this does not take away from the accomplishments of the DCS network which had to provide coverage to some very rural areas as these coverage maps from March of 1998 show (maybe, maybe two years after the acquisition of the PCS licenses). Some generic facts about the network are also available from cache of the BellSouth Mobility DCS web page.
As of this writing BellSouth Mobility DCS uses two types of antenna differentiated by their color, white or grey. The white antenna are thought to be made by Comsat and are deployed in the traditional 2 x 3 or 3 x 3 configuration most PCS carriers use. Oddly, the more rural a site is the more antenna per sector the site will have. The grey antenna are deployed in metro areas in groups of three with one antenna per sector (combined TX/RX).
All sites use Nortel Univity GSM S12000 BTS cabinets. The number of cabinets deployed ranges from one (Fig. 2-1), two (Fig. 2-2) and three. Three cabinet installation are sometimes labeled A, B and G. It is assumed this is short for alpha, beta and gamma and that each cabinet of a triple cabinet configuration is dedicated to one sector of that particular site. All sites feature an additional cabinet that sits between the Univity cabinets and the antenna cabling (see: Fig. 2-4) & (Fig. 2-5). It is assumed this cabinet houses electrical equipment, antenna controllers and the DS-1 smartjack shelf(s).
Figure 2-1: Nortel Univity GSM S12000
Figure 2-2: Dual Nortel Univity GSM S12000
Figure 2-4: Anntena controller
BellSouth is very diligent about marking their sites. All sites have two signs, normally located on the antenna controller/telco cabinet. The main sign is the site id sign (Fig. 3-1). The site id sometimes contains part of the cell site's GSM Cell ID. Sometimes it does not. The other sign contains emergency contact information (Fig. 3-2). Post merger many sites seem to have gotten new padlocks which feature the Cingular name and a 1-800 emergency contact number (Fig. 3-3).
Figure 3-1/2: Site ID/Contact signage
Figure 3-3: Post-merger padlock