Rooftop Concealment Structure Design and Analysis
As demand for connectivity grows, rooftops can fill network voids — but the same aesthetic obstacles that prevent new tower construction often limit macro builds on buildings. Flush-mounted antennas no longer satisfy MNOs as new frequency bands and PIM requirements push equipment toward the building edge, behind screen walls and concealment structures that both meet aesthetic requirements and provide a mounting solution.
That added responsibility brings multiple disciplines and vendors into a single project, where each party’s results affect the others upstream and downstream. This TIF White Paper defines the parties involved and establishes a pathway of communication between them:
- Parties and Roles
- MNO
- RF Engineer
- A&E Vendor
- Structural Engineer
- Mount Analysis Engineer
- Concealment Engineer
- Supplier
- Contractor
- Coordination and Load Path
- The MNO Best Practice Expectation List, circulated at kickoff
- Batch reactions per load combination shared in sortable digital format
- Scope impacts beyond each party’s contractual obligation
- Post-Installation
- Post-Installation Inspection
- Changed conditions per the IEBC
- Future equipment changes without reanalysis under ANSI/TIA-222
- Authors: Paul Voth, P.E. (GPD Group), Gary K. Lucas Jr., P.E., CWI (Network Building + Consulting), Bryan MacLaren, P.E. (Delta Oaks Group)
