You are on an important phone call, maybe with a client ready to seal the deal, or a family member in crisis, or possibly just a great conversation with a good friend when all of a sudden, SILENCE.  The call has been dropped.  Frustrated, you look at your phone which had four bars just a moment ago and see that it is now down to one or even zero signal bars.  Children trying to watch the latest episode of Phineas & Ferb screaming, "Mom! Dad! The internet is down" while watching the all too familiar rotating buffering circle showing on the screen.  Digital communication and services is the driving force in the massive growth of the communications industry.  It has not even been a decade since the first iPhone was introduced.  Now, so many of us cannot function without our smartphone.

This massive push for more media and greater capabilities has telecommunication companies, cable, and internet providers working hard to increase their capacity to deliver this data.  New towers are being constructed at a rapid pace.  Older towers are being modified by installing additional, new equipment that will deliver the required capacities.  Most of these older towers were not engineered or designed to handle the loads that result when this new equipment is added.  Also, many of these older towers were painted steel, and the corrosion of the tower, in some cases severe, must be dealt with.  It is very difficult to replace an older tower due to restrictions or limitations to access.  Typically suburban growth has expanded all around the tower making it dangerous or cost prohibitive to remove and replace the tower.  Many of the towers, antennas, and support equipment structures are constructed in remote and wooded areas, and on rooftops.  Accessibility to these areas is typically limited and corrosion can go unnoticed for extended periods of time.  For these reasons, it is imperative that every consideration is given to make this equipment safe, strong, reliable, and long lasting.  Hot-dip galvanizing has been chosen as the preferred corrosion prevention coating in order to meet these requirements.

For over 50 years, Goff Communications has provided communication systems to some of the world's greatest companies.  Experts in telecom development and construction management, they provide engineering, fabrication, installation, testing and many other services for the industry.  In addition to building new towers and equipment, Goff has developed tower modification systems that when installed, increase the strength of the tower in order to handle the weight and loads of the additional equipment required for upgrades.  Service contracts require that they inspect, repair, and replace any sections of older towers.  When paint on a tower is compromised, the corrosion that develops creeps underneath the coating, spreading across the structure eating away at its strength.  Hot-dip galvanizing provides cathodic protection which allows the zinc to sacrifice itself for the steel structure and does not allow corrosion to migrate in the instance that the coating is scratched or compromised.  In addition, the hardness of the zinc coating and its durability make it difficult to be compromised.  The roughness of handling during assembly and construction is not a factor requiring touch-up as it would be on a painted structure.   The long life cycle and minimal maintenance required provided by the corrosion performance of hot-dip galvanizing, is another significant reason this coating is chosen.  The cost savings accrued by utilizing hot dip-galvanizing multiplied by the hundreds of towers in use and yet to be erected, is extremely significant in such a competitive industry.

Consumers streaming some type of media has doubled over the past year.  The 2014 Global Mobile Consumer Survey showed a 19 percent increase among US consumers streaming television or film over the previous year, and there was an impressive 30 percent year-over-year growth in streaming music.  Across the globe our lives are "connected".  So many activities in our daily routine require some use of the telecommunication highway.  Not only do we have smartphones, but the creation of "Smart" cities is on the rise.  All of this activity requires additional capability and equipment.  Whether it is steel pipe or angle being used to build a new tower, or plate for reinforcement modifications, or beams, plate and handrail for support equipment platforms Goff Communications will utilize hot-dip galvanized steel so that not only you, but your children, and their grandchildren can remain "connected."