198 Int. J. Wireless and Mobile Computing, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2016 Copyright © 2016 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Tower sharing and the associated constraints in multi-operator GSM base transceiver station Latif Kadir, A.J. Falade, A.Y. Abdulrahman* and Olatunji Mohammed Electrical & Electronics Engineering Department, University of Ilorin, P.M.B.1515 Ilorin, Nigeria Email: allahulateefkijan@gmail.com Email: falade.alaba@yahoo.com Email: abdulrahman.yusuf@yahoo.com Email: reacholaabdul@gmail.com *Corresponding author Abstract: Communication has witnessed a tremendous boost in Nigeria since the introduction of Global Systems for Mobile communication (GSM). However, congestion of GSM towers in the metropolis poses an environmental issue. The capital-intensive nature of wireless services has forced two or more operators to share a common tower without any conflicts of interest. In order to ensure a hitch-free operation, mutual agreement among the operators and regulatory bodies is required. The techniques of GSM infrastructure sharing, its benefits, constraints, and technical and health implications are presented in this article. The results of sensitivity analysis and the implications on the coverage and quality of service were highlighted. Moreover, the effects of adding more BTS antennas to a tower were investigated in terms of additional dynamic loading caused by wind, and increased radiation intensity. The study would be useful for radio engineers in the planning and design stages of a GSM network. Keywords: cell towers; infrastructure deployment; quality of service; tower height; microwave link; wind loading. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Kadir, L., Falade, A.J., Abdulrahman, A.Y. and Mohammed, O. (2016) ‘Tower sharing and the associated constraints in multi-operator GSM base transceiver station’, Int. J. Wireless and Mobile Computing, Vol. 11, No. 3, pp.198–206. Biographical notes: Latif Kadir holds a BEng and MEng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from University of Ilorin, Ilorin. He is an Electronics Engineer at Project Development Institute (PRODA), Enugu. His research interests include mobile network infrastructure sharing and electronics design. A.J. Falade holds BSc and MSc degrees in Physics. He also possesses MEng and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering. He is specialised in Telecommunications and Computational Electromagnetics. He is with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, University of Ilorin Nigeria. A.Y. Abdulrahman holds BEng, MEng and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering. His research interests include radio propagation and antenna systems designs and measurement. He is with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, University of Ilorin Nigeria. Olatunji Mohammed holds a BEng and MEng degrees in Electrical Engineering with specialisation in Power Systems. He is with the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department, University of Ilorin Nigeria. 1 Introduction The introduction of Global Systems for Mobile communication (GSM) has changed the telecommunication systems in Nigeria. Owing to its numerous benefits, GSM technology has grown rapidly in the last decade. The number of cell phones and cell towers are increasing both in Nigeria and the world at large. According to Koutitas and Demesticahas (2010), in the fixed line networks, over 70% of the overall power consumption exists in the user segment and less than 30% is due to operator.