ATIS - Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
Scope
This standard covers the electrical protection of communications towers and associated structures. The standard specifies baseline electrical protection measures for freestanding radio@ microwave@ and other telecommunications towers@ such as cellular or personal communications service (PCS) sites. It does not include electrical protection of towers or poles associated with high voltage transmission lines. These towers or poles may experience ground potential rise due to transmission line faults@ and may require electrical protection measures beyond the scope of this standard@ such as the high-voltage isolation methods described in ANSI/IEEE 487@ IEEE 1590@ and T1.316. These measures are intended to assist in the protection of personnel and telecommunications equipment located in structures attached to or immediately adjacent to these towers@ in the event of lightning strikes to and/or near these towers; equalize potential differences between equipment; and minimize the introduction of electrical noise. All radio/communication towers shall meet TIA/EI 222-G structural construction requirements. Application of electrical protection Not every communications tower or associated building will require the same level of electrical protection. The electrical protection measures and surge protective device applications presented shall be used where electrical protection is required. Other factors@ such as those related to telecommunications service reliability or local codes and standards@ may dictate the need for electrical protection measures that exceed those described in this standard.