Recently, AT&T continued to increase it’s fast growing 4G LTE network in Tampa. As of October of 2011, AT&T has more than 1,730 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots in Florida. This time, the tower was placed on top of the Urban Centre in the Westshore Business district of Tampa. Westshore is the largest commercial market in the Tampa Bay region. Located within the city limits of Tampa, the Westshore district is Florida's largest office community. It is also home to numerous first class hotels, abundant meeting space, upscale shopping, entertainment, and nearby residential areas. Westshore is at the geographic center of the fast growing Tampa/St. Petersburg/Clearwater market, making the resources of the entire market easily accessible. Tampa International Airport (TIA), rated one of the nations best, is located right in Westshore.
This project was completed for The Stowe Group, a national business and IT consulting firm headquartered outside of Boston, Massachusetts that is building out 4G cellular networks for the world's largest and most progressive telecommunications carriers.
In a two-step process, CCO operator Bubba Tillis and second year apprentice Jeff Hopgood, used the Grove GMK 5240 to get the roll of cable to the roof of the Centre. In the first step, Jeff hoisted up two flat pieces of board, secured with nylon straps, to act as a base for the cable roll once it got up there, so it could be more effectively maneuvered. Then, Bubba hoisted the cable roll up to the roof where two Stowe Group technicians were waiting to guide it in. There were a couple of challenges in this project – with one being the height of the lift. The boom was extended about 200 feet and then the load swung over to the edge of the roof. Because of the close proximity to TIA, they could only lift the base and the cable approximately 10 feet above the ledge of the roof, so good communication and many assistants on the ground and the roof were essential. The building also consists primarily of windows, so precision was a must.
This upgraded tower is one of 192 in 2011 in the Tampa area. The new expansions, including the 4G, not only allows for quicker web surfing, but can also help reduce dropped calls and improve service quality at busy times.
