Plans for a telecommunications tower in the Aghadowey area have been submitted to Causeway Coast and Glens Council

The proposal is for installation of a 35m lattice telecommunications tower, supporting six antennas and two 600mm dishes, at the Boyd Mountains. It will also have a foul weather enclosure, generator and meter cabinet together with ancillary development.

An information document submitted by telecommunications firm Cornerstone explains it is sometimes necessary “to upgrade existing sites or develop new sites to ensure network quality”.

It continues: “Base stations use radio signals to connect mobile devices and phones to the network, enabling people to send and receive calls, texts, emails, pictures, web, TV and downloads. Without base stations mobiles and devices will not work. To keep up with growing demand from mobile phone users we need to upgrade existing base stations or build new base stations.”

Upgrades can involve redeveloping sites to enable an increase in the number of technologies or increasing the number or height of the antennas. However, in some busy areas “the demand for services can still exceed the capability of the local base stations” and some parts of the country “do not have adequate coverage”.

The document continues: “In these situations we need to look into developing a new base station. This would improve the network coverage, resulting in improved network experiences for local customers.

“As 5G technology is deployed across the country more and more services will become available and our lifestyles, economy and even the way we commute will be transformed. Additional base stations and upgrades to existing ones will be needed to meet this demand and improve the quality of service.”