Duluth-AT&T tower coming down

[mnmike]

At 280 feet, wasn't this the tallest structure downtown?

http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/ ... id/249580/

[tabletop]

Does this mean AT&T's service will get even worse?!

(sent from my iPhone)

[Andrew_F]

Microwave communications in the US have been mostly replaced by fiber. I'm betting the tower has been pretty much obsolete for a long time and underutilized for its maintenance cost. AT&T's long line systems are fascinating to read about-- particularly the blast-hardened ones that were built during the cold war.

[Le Sueur]

...particularly the blast-hardened ones that were built during the cold war.

Huh the things ya never knew.

The AT&T microwave towers were used for both civil and government communications. They were mostly built in the 50s and early 60s, and moved the Bell System's long-distance communications off of copper wires for a large part of the network. Some communications went over transcontinental cables, others over microwave links. The buildings supporting the towers were hardened against a nuclear blast, and some of them in high-danger areas were underground. The towers themselves were engineered to withstand all but a close (within 5 miles) blast. The microwave horns were covered with a protective shield to keep out not only the elements, but also radioactive fallout. The buildings were shielded with copper to protect the equipment against the Electromagnetic Pulse associated with a nuclear explosion. Foot-thick concrete walls protected the vital electronics and people inside the base installations of these towers. Thick copper grounds went deep into the bedrock beneath each tower. Fallout showers, backup generators, sleeping facilities all existed to keep the network up in times of war.

Funny, the AtWater building (urbanmsp.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=180&view) still has this tower in the render.

[tabletop]

Agreed, these are facinating structures, wired had great little piece on the AT&T switching center in NY http://www.wired.com/design/2013/01/bui ... eid-148633