Modular Wireless Towers: A Case Study on Jet Towers' Rapid Growth

• Networks & Connectivity - WiFi

• Cement
• Telecommunications

• Logistics & Transportation
• Product Research & Development

• Last Mile Delivery
• Time Sensitive Networking

• System Integration

Jet Towers, a small startup company in Brazil, faced a significant challenge in providing internet service in rural areas of the country where optical fiber was not economical due to low population density. The company aimed to address this market with tower-mounted Wi-Fi, which required a lower initial investment. However, the company needed to quickly build a large number of towers to start earning a return on their investment. The management had the idea of a modular line of towers based on components that were designed and built in advance. These components could then be assembled and installed in a fraction of the time required to design and build each tower from scratch. The modules needed to be optimized from both a fluid flow and structural perspective so they could be used to construct antennas with a wide range of heights and load-supporting capabilities while keeping total installation costs to a minimum. This represented a potentially overwhelming task for a company with only one design engineer and no analysts.

Jet Towers is a small startup company based in Brazil, specializing in the design and construction of modular towers for the telecommunications industry. The company prides itself on the short delivery time of its highly engineered products. Jet Towers aims to provide internet service in rural areas of Brazil where optical fiber is not economical due to low population density. The company addresses this market with tower-mounted Wi-Fi, which requires a lower initial investment. Jet Towers' innovative approach to tower design and construction has allowed it to keep up with growing market demand and experience rapid growth.

The design engineer at Jet Towers utilized ANSYS AIM, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tool, to determine the wind loading exerted by different tower structures and to predict wind loading produced by several common antenna designs. From this information, the engineer derived the drag coefficients and estimated load for other antennas. Using finite element analysis (FEA), the engineer evaluated the performance of different structural profiles and connection methods. The engineer then simulated a wide range of alternatives and designed more than 20 modules that minimize the material, manufacturing, foundation, and installation cost of the finished antennas. The design was embedded into a spreadsheet for sales reps, so they can now easily enter parameters that the spreadsheet uses to automatically determine which modules can be combined to build an optimized antenna.

• The use of ANSYS AIM guided the Jet Towers’ design engineer through a complete multiphysics workflow, making it possible for a non-analyst to design a line of modular towers. This resulted in a superior product at a competitive price in only one week, one-fifth the time required by conventional methods. Jet Towers’ ability to provide antenna towers with shorter delivery times has resulted in rapid growth for the company. The company's innovative approach to tower design and construction has allowed it to keep up with growing market demand and experience rapid growth.

• Reduced tower installation time by 80%
• Designed more than 20 modules that minimize the material, manufacturing, foundation, and installation cost of the finished antennas
• Built and installed 35 towers in the first eight months of operation