What are these strange white poles?

I have noticed that next to a Fibre cabinet & PCP down the street, there seems to be a giant white pole. Is this some kind of Microwave receiver/transmitter? There seems to be an extra white box next to it too. At street level there seems to be a PCP, a ECI fibre cabinent, an unidentified white cabinet and an unidentified giant white pole.

http://i59.tinypic.com/w88c48.png
http://i58.tinypic.com/20trp1s.png

Also, down the street, there seem to be two large green boxes that look like PCPs to the left of another large white pole with a bulge at the top. There doesn't seem to be an ECI or Huawei cabinet next to these though.

http://i57.tinypic.com/29etc2o.png

What are these poles? My cabinet doesn't have any of these next to them, but 2 in my area do. I'm just wondering if my FTTC cabinet is fed by some kind of crazy wireless system, but my pings and download speed seem great.

I'm on the outskirts of a major UK town, so I'm not out in the sticks. Those poles are at the top of a large hill which makes me wonder.. are they maybe just mobile phone masts, perhaps 4G that link in with the Openreach architecture?

I haven't been to look at them up close, but they don't seem to have any visible markings. I can take better pictures if needed.

Small cell tower?

That's what I was thinking. Right next to Openreach fibre infrastructure would surely be an ideal place to stick a 4G mast.

If slightly taller than a lamp-post with a bulge on top, its a cell 'phone base station mast.

If it's a microwave link, then the top of the pole will have a small dish at the top, either like a very small Sky dish or a white enclosed circular dish.

Edited by deleted (Wed 15-Oct-14 11:34:53)

They are maybe 20-30% taller than the lamp posts. Neither have dishes. So I guess it's a cellphone mast.

As others say Cellular Base Stations.

Have a look at http://sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search which may confirm it as the detail is not always up to date.

Thanks! The poles appear exactly on the map and apparently one is a 14.25 meter O2 UMTS Macrocell, and the other is a combined Orange/Vodafone macrocell.

Phone masts.

Weirdly enough, BT via another 'company' bought up some 4G licence space despite not having any other mobile air space.
Said company intends to 'rent' 4G air space to the other providers and anyone else who wants to use it. (Look up Niche Spectrum Ventures Ltd)

I'd bet my bottom $ that these are new 4G masts... (well that and the fact I'm an ex-Motorola Base Station Systems Test & Development Engineer)

Makes you wonder why BTOR spent all that money putting fibre connections in places you wouldn't think would warrant it.
Or for those really cynical people out there, could also explain the use of BDUK money in certain areas where you have a shiny new green cabinet with the bare minimum of populated boards, a few (96) lucky subscribers with a list of those waiting (for extra cards), yet all of a sudden, a 4G signal pops up on their phones.
"Oh look, theres a nice shiny new Fibre pipe. Wouldn't it be great if we could hang a 4G mast off that said pipe?"

If you look up the directors of the company that bid on the extra 4G licences, I'd be surprised if you didn't see a few ex-MP's and a bunch of (ex>) BTOR staff...

My a cynic ? Nah, never...

Interesting theory! I just thought it was odd how they were all right next to BTOR FTTC cabinets

Seen plenty of clusters of cabinets, and nothing to do with BT going back into mobile market.

Things like plenty of space and nearby power mean these things tend to cluster and T junctions are a favourite.

Niche Spectrum Ventures Ltd has actually been liquidated!

BT never hid the fact that they were bidding and just used NSV as a way to manage the costs and process. They may not be intending to offer voice services however they could well be planning to provide a mobile data network of their own.

They are just mobile phone masts. Not necessarily 4g. These have been around for years but differ from most mobile phone masts that they use fibre or leased line over copper instead of licensed wireless backhaul. That's the reason they are situated on a fibre run.

It may be the other way round than you think. Because these guys paid for the fibre in that area BT can just put a cabinet there without having to pay for installing the fibre to exchange.

The same thing happened round my way. The first streets to get the FTTC cabinet were in streets where fibre already ran to paying users.

There's one of these exactly the same near me, it is an O2 mast pumping out 2/3&4G..

Check this http://www.o2.co.uk/coveragechecker and make sure the mast marker is checked...

Their is no reason it should be O2's only and O2 use Virgin to supply back haul so more than likely another provider who uses Openreach or BTw as back haul.

Actually, I think I was being a bit mischievous. That'll teach me for posting at 4.21am in the morning !!

Niche Spectrum Ventures Ltd were a subsidiary of BT PLC so there was never any attempt for them to hide BT's involvement and it probably just was a paper trail exercise (tax, profits and all that mumbo jumbo beyond us mere mortals).

I still have my suspicions about the motives behind some fibre rollouts. Living in a village of around 1600 houses, we've had fibre run to about 80% of the village so far, with another 10% at the far end of the village sorted out by Hampshire County Councils BDUK funded project. Still have a few areas with no access and the usual EO lines.
Most of the cabinets are populated with the minimum number of boards and again, most have people waiting to be connected because they are listed as requiring upgrading. (That is apart from the BDUK funded cabinet at the end of the village which can support more houses than actually exists at that end of the village).

We're 7 miles south of Reading and 4 miles north of Basingstoke and didn't think we'd get fibre as quick as what we did. Mobile coverage is patchy in various areas of the village depending on which Mobile company you are with.
Imagine my surprise the other day when as I was walking out of the village, my phone swaps over from a flaky 2G signal to a full strength 4G signal in the middle of a field ??
None of the main providers list 4G as being available, and O2 who I use don't list any new or existing masts in the area supporting 4G.
Couldn't see a 4G mast for love nor money so don't have a clue where the new mast is hiding...

I can see a lot of these BT (former Niche Spectrum) masts popping up in rural locations in the not too distant future.
Not that is a bad thing, and I guess in reality they are just killing two birds with one stone...

We don't have any virgin media cable in my area, so I suppose BT would be the only option

That's pretty interesting, I didn't know it worked the other way too!

Correct me if I am wrong, but that is bridge of Don, Aberdeen?

If so, those are both O2 masts. They have been in for longer than the BTOR fibre has been live in BOD

Yep, you would be right. Good spot!