Authorized Personnel Only

How to secure your sites from insiders and outsiders Most providers are reluctant to discuss the topic of wireless-tower security. They prefer to keep the issue quiet, often because they don't want to divulge security secrets. They also don't want to put ideas into unscrupulous heads.

Despite the hush-hush attitude about the subject, cell-site security became a crucial issue in August during the strike by Verizon employees. Several sabotage threats were reported, and a few minor incidents were documented.

In one case, two striking electrical workers were burned as they allegedly tried to cut a cable at a cell site in Baldwin, NY. In the same town a few days later, a cable was severed, leaving about 200 Verizon customers without service.

Jim Young, Supra Products national sales manager, recalls two acts of cell-site vandalism that were much worse than the two Verizon incidents.

"One time a robber stole over $1 million in equipment from a site in the Houston area," he said. "The other was when a former employer of a provider ruined $350,000 worth of computers with the site's fire extinguisher."

Because of incidents like these, wireless providers have enhanced their security measures over the last couple of years, said Dennis Walters, Systems/Link director of industry relations.

Exposure Cell sites are the central nervous system of the wireless industry. They are vital, expensive and numerous. A vandal who damages one of these sites can cost providers hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs and lost airtime, not to mention cause a flood of complaints. In other industries, a company's vital, expensive equipment is locked safely in the company's headquarters protected by security guards and surveillance cameras. Wireless-service providers don't have that luxury because their towers, cabinets and monopoles crisscross the country, and many are in remote locations. This may be great for nationwide networking, but it can make security much more difficult. Although site-security problems do not appear to be epidemic, the issue is significant enough that most providers play their cards close to the vest when discussing security issues.

Because of their secrecy, it's tough to gauge just how big a problem the issue has become. There are few, if any, statistics pertaining to cell-site vandalism or theft. Fortunately, lawmakers realize the importance of cell-site security and have made it a federal offense to enter one of these sites without permission. There also are significant penalties for damaging equipment.

Even the insurance industry has yet to get a handle on the scope of the problem.

"It will probably be a couple years before we have accurate statistics about cell-site security," said Rob Marzulli, National Insurance Association spokesperson. Marzulli said TV and radio towers have long been the targets of evildoers. According to Marzulli, in 1998 about 8% of the $22.5 million in insurance claims by TV- and radio-tower owners were for security-related issues.

Comparing the problems seen at radio and TV towers with cell sites may be misleading. Some experts in the wireless industry say they have seen little foul play, even at remote base stations. One reason for the low incident rate, they believe, is that vandalizing or stealing equipment at a site demands a lot of hard work for very little reward.

The Good News In 17 years working in the tower industry, Jim Powers, Crown Castle vice president of business, said he has witnessed only minor vandalism problems.

"They may mess things up for a couple hours, but nothing we can't handle," Powers said.

With provider mergers occurring so often these days, it also would seem this would be an opportune time for vandals to take advantage of the likely security confusion resulting from the transition. Powers, however, said he has seen the exact opposite.

"What these mergers are doing is getting rid of locally owned sites and standardizing the towers with the most modern security equipment," he said. "You no longer have the local tower makers involved."

Powers said the biggest threat to sites is not thieves but hunters using towers for target practice.

In addition to vandals, a small black market has developed for stolen wireless equipment. Finding someone to buy stolen site equipment could be challenging, Systems/Link's Walters said. But a criminal conceivably could create fake cell sites allowing him to make and sell free calls or clone a customer's signal to pick up his private information, Walters said.

Providers also are concerned about unauthorized people entering these sites and injuring themselves.

"Suicide is a definite concern," Powers said.

Safe & Secure For the most part, providers have been successful at keeping trespassers from damaging or stealing their equipment. Much of the credit is due to technology and site design.

"We build them pretty much like Fort Knox," said Sam Moratori, Wireless Spectrum Services (WSS) field supervisor.

Moratori said WSS puts steel doors into every remote site. Many cell sites have a 6-foot chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Some sites also are protected by round-the-clock alarm systems. Like most providers, AT&T has hired highly trained professionals, including some ex-FBI agents, to ensure that only authorized employees are permitted on these sites. The company also heightens its security when potential problems may arise.

Crown Castle installed 24-hour surveillance cameras in towers with heavy personnel traffic in order to monitor the sites. This was especially necessary because Crown Castle supports multiple providers at many of its towers, sometimes as many as 10 per site.

"We have higher security because of this sharing," said Powers. "All of our cabinets have very elaborate security systems so only people with a specific provider can get in."

Some providers use keyless security systems that provide detailed accounts of who is entering the site and when.

"We aren't as concerned with strangers breaking in as we are that our employees don't accidentally take down a system," said Scott Hammett, AT&T director of field services.

This system also will keep a disgruntled former employee out of a site. Providers simply program the system to reject his authorization.

This system also offers providers the added benefit of knowing exactly who has entered a site.

In time some operators become weary and lazy from all the false alarms, said Supra's Young. This can lead to security lapses.

When it comes to site security, another line of defense is the design of the shelter itself. Most shelters are created with 5,000-psi steel-reinforced concrete and are engineered to withstand fire, bullets and vandalism.

Reflecting the sentiments of providers, WSS' Moratori said the objective of site-security technology is always to stay one step ahead of the bad guys.