New tower standards are coming, but don’t worry yet

Revision G. Its title may not be all that sexy but the seventh revision of the TIA/EIA Standard for Communications Towers is going to be significant for wireless community. However, its developers say not to worry.

“We don’t want to alarm the user base and get them worried about this,” said John Erichsen, PiRod (www.pirod.com) vice president of engineering, who is working on the revision.

Erichsen said the developers’ goal now was to educate people about what's happening and what the new revision most likely will require.

“We don’t want to have a lot of confusion in the marketplace until we really have everything settled,” he said.

Last week, developers finished a draft of the revision’s main body. They’re now working on the annexes and final touches, according to Mark Malouf, Malouf Engineering (www.mei1inc.com) president and an executive on the revision’s editorial committee.

The next meeting takes place Oct. 25 and 26, where a full committee will evaluate the main body of the standards.

Revision G will amend three main areas of the existing standard: wind loading, ice loading and appurtenances. The remainder of the code also will see more minor revisions. Technical specifics will be ironed out when the code goes public sometime next year.

“It’s going to be a good step forward particularly because we’re paying a lot more attention to safety,” said Craig Snyder, Sioux Falls Tower & Communications (www.siouxfallstower.com) president and chairman of the subcommittee writing the new standard. “We’re trying to bring the tower standard more in line with OSHA standards.”

Snyder said his goal is to have the standard ready by next June.

Revisions

Major revisions such as this take place about once every 10 to 20 years. The last major revision to the TIA/EIA standard was completed in 1987. Major advancements or developments in technology help spur complete revisions.

“Every 15 or so years, the industry and the engineering profession accumulates enough change that you really have to start over,” Erichsen said.

Typically, the code goes through more minor revisions every three to five years.

PiRod has helped create a pamphlet explaining some of the most common questions about Revision G. It’s available by calling 877-467-4763.