How should a lightning protection System (RBS) be formed?

The earthing network of an RBS should be formed by a ring loop surrounding the tower, equipment room and fence, at a minimum. The mean radius re of this ring loop should be not less than l1, as indicated in Figure 1 and this value depends on the lightning protection system (LPS) class and on the soil resistivity.

What is a lightning protection system (LPS)?

3.2.3 lightning protection system (LPS): Complete system used to reduce physical damage due to lightning flashes to a structure. NOTE – An LPS consists of both external and internal lightning protection system.

What is a radio base station (RBS) earthing network?

The most important objective of the radio base station (RBS) earthing network is to minimize the differences in potential between the conductive parts within the RBS site (equipotential bonding), which is beneficial for the safety, lightning protection and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) performance of the equipment.

Why does a telecommunications site need reliable grounding?

A telecommunications site needs reliable grounding for the purpose of good reference ground, noise control and dissipation of any lightning energy. Surges in the power and copper based telephone lines can also originate from lightning strikes that have struck objects some distance from the actual site, in many cases, even miles away.

Is a telecommunication tower impacted by lightning?

If the antenna is installed on the top of telecommunication tower, e.g., antenna positions 1 of Figure 29, it is considered to be impacted by or exposed to direct lightning strikes. Refer to [IEC 62305-3] for detail information about the protection angles and volume protected by an air termination system.

Do lightning rods protect roof top installations?

Traditional building lightning protection techniques, such as the use of air terminals (Franklin Lightning Rods), are not well suited to protect roof top installations.