Manhole Covers Serve as Antennas Expanding Wireless Network Coverage

IEEE Spectrum   December 18, 2018
High-speed bandwidth, and the use of the millimeter wave spectrum needed for 5G networks barely propagate around the corners of buildings. To overcome this issue, the strategy has been a combination of small cells with massive MIMO antennas to increase coverage. To manage to get all these small cells dispersed throughout a city landscape, researchers in the UK propose using manhole covers as antennas for mobile communications. It eliminates traffic disruptions from street construction, and there are no antennas awkwardly placed on buildings, marring the appearance of a neighborhood. The manhole does not interfere with the mobile signals, although there is a small level of power loss caused by the manhole. This solution is currently being used for existing 4G networks…read more.