The demand for cellular mobile bandwidth has required major changes in cell towers. Network connections to the towers are being upgraded with fiber to the tower. To provide more bandwidth for mobile users, towers need more antennas. But the traditional coax cable used to connect antennas is too heavy, bulky and expensive. Fiber optic cables, often in cables that include power conductors, are being used to replace coax cables on these towers as well as for towers mounted on buildings and even the new generation of small cells.
This FOA video lecture focuses on fiber to the antenna, primarily looking at cell towers, but also antennas mounted on rooftops, small cells and distributed antenna systems (DAS.) Because of its variety, DAS will be covered in a separate course.
Why fiber to the antenna?