Guangdong Province has a high population density and experiences a hot and humid climate with frequent precipitation and high levels of air humidity. Communication towers are often built on rooftops here. Traditional steel towers require high rooftop bearing capacity. Due to the heavy weight of the steel tower, special machinery is required for transportation and installation. However, it is difficult to complete the installation in special construction sites such as rooftops. Due to the insufficient number of 5G communication base station layouts, it is urgent to solve the daily communication needs of the residence.

The project team of Harbin FRP Research Institute designed a FRP composite lattice tower with a height of 18 meters and a total weight of 1.5 tons. it reduced the weight by 50% compared with the steel tower, with polymer-based materials accounting for 27% and a total of 405 kg. The footprint of the tower is 6.25 m2, which requires a rooftop with a bearing capacity of 240 kg/m2. The use of the lightweight and high-strength FRP material in the tower allowed for higher antennas mounting heights, which in turn expanded the signal coverage range and improved communication quality.

Compared with traditional steel towers of the same height, composite towers can reduce carbon emissions by 43% during the production process. The extremely low maintenance cost makes its high cost-effectiveness throughout its entire life-cycle.