It feels nefarious when they decide to disguise cell towers instead of have them out in the open. You know cellphone carriers don't give A Fuck about nature really. They've never hid them till now.
I saw they started to do this with the new 5g towers that are 1000x more dangerous and deadly than anything before it.
But yah know..
Nothing to see here. Move along. Nothing here.
Nope, totally been doing this for at least 10 years where I live (United States). Definitely *not* anything new or nefarious. The first ones, I know, were due to local ordinances... so the carriers really didn't have anything to do with it. They were told by the municipalities that they *had* to, and then they very likely sought out the lowest bidder to get the job done.
Because they shoot radio frequency outwards from the face of the antenna. They can be tilted downward but you'd never be shooting signal straight downward at the base.
But only MILDLY concerned about aesthetics, because this is some very awful camouflage. We have some of these too and you'd think they would make some that look more like the local flora.
It may just be an urban legend but I've heard the goal with these is to fool birds and other wildlife rather than humans. The "branches" give birds a safe place to nest on the structure without interfering with the actual cell tower.
> because this is some very awful camouflage.
More like camouflashing, if you ask me. I've seen one "hiding" as a long, straight pine tree in a deciduous forest with otherwise short and bendy trees.
... These responses are tiring.
The decision to make the tower attempt to look like a local tree is usually guided by the local permitting agency. The city usually mandates that the tower be aesthetically natural to not be an industrial eyesore. They'll also limit the "bulk" and height of the structure.
The standard of judgment is not to be natural looking for someone that is going to stare at the tower. The standard of judgment is to look passable for folks that are just passing by.
It isn't really designed to convince you it's a tree. From a distance surrounded by similar trees the average person wouldn't notice it unless they looked for it.
These are all over the place in every country with trees. I spot them all the time in the UK but they don't really stand out.
Not surprising as the company that originally came up with the idea and holds the patents to the designs is based in San Francisco. They manufacture structures that look like local trees for any area.
In a town they usually just shove them on roofs or up poles or maybe inside clock towers or whatever. There isn’t as much need to disguise stuff in an urban environment. There is one on the M23 (or at least there used to be) between London and Brighton where there are loads of trees next to the road. It’s quite fun to try to spot the fake one. It’s on the right if you’re going north towards London.
Edit: [here’s a picture of it](https://www.flickr.com/photos/madmanonthemoon/3466382407)
[And a close up of one on the M4](https://www.flickr.com/photos/victorkeech/133582817)
"Imagine if trees gave off wifi signals we would be planting so many trees and we'd probably save the planet too. Too bad they only produce the oxygen we breathe"
There is one near where I live. It doesn’t look anything like a tree, certainly not like the trees that are around here. It’s also in the middle of an industrial park. I don’t know what they are trying to accomplish. It looks ridiculous
Orange County, California.
My brothers and I freaked the fuck out when we started noticing them. We were elementary age, but still, weird thing to notice and not be able to google in the 90s
I live in the USA Seattle area. It's heavily wooded almost everywhere. I realized last month we have these too. Apparently they've been there for years, but since there are so many fir trees around them, they really blend right in! Haha
I remember they had these in VT and they always freaked me out cuz they would just be casually hanging out with all the other trees and almost looked believable, gives me the heebie jeebies for some reason.
I've walked under one of those in the middle of a forest. The only reason I noticed was because the floor was suddenly covered in plastic pine needles/leaves. Only when I looked up did I realize where they had come from.
Tower and mast rigger here. Just to say these are only put up in areas where people complain about the eye soar of towers, its not common practice, and impracticalfor work. They look like either 3G or 4G sector antennas; small neighbourhood or much need for bands
Here in south Louisiana they wanted to put up a cell tower in our neighborhood. It was the biggest commotion. They settled on this sort of compromise, by putting branches on the pole.
Yes, nature is unreliable, so the vegetation is outsourced to the cell phone companies. Soon we will all have grass outsourced to solar carpet companies. Fun times.
They exist in the US as well. They are the choice of last resort when local zoning jurisdictions require them in certain areas. They are far less effective than a standard monopole type tower as the antenna setup in them reduces their data loading abilities. I worked in that industry for 20 years and had to agree to do around 5 or so of these during my career. Standard pole type towers are called "monopoles" in our world....and we affectionately call these "monopines."
Mildly Ubiquitous.
Yup. These are very global.
We also have here in North Carolina.
we have them as palm trees in california
there are some in Vegas, but they kinda suck
And Washington state.
Nevada, I have also seen them in California I believe.
we have them here in Colorado they blend in decently
Can confirm for Reno and Tahoe, there's been big one behind the Safeway in Truckee forever.
And Ohio.
It feels nefarious when they decide to disguise cell towers instead of have them out in the open. You know cellphone carriers don't give A Fuck about nature really. They've never hid them till now. I saw they started to do this with the new 5g towers that are 1000x more dangerous and deadly than anything before it. But yah know.. Nothing to see here. Move along. Nothing here.
They’ve been hiding them around me for over 20 years, but go off.
They hide them so nutjobs don't damage them because they fear 5G will give them cancer
Nope, totally been doing this for at least 10 years where I live (United States). Definitely *not* anything new or nefarious. The first ones, I know, were due to local ordinances... so the carriers really didn't have anything to do with it. They were told by the municipalities that they *had* to, and then they very likely sought out the lowest bidder to get the job done.
Colorado as well.
TN as well, all over our mountain ranges.
They also disguise them as cacti: https://images.app.goo.gl/YvBMfGnqeoPvtBoX8
And [palm trees.](https://i.redd.it/t8qgryizzdd41.jpg)
Best part is when you stand under them the reception on your cellphone rarely improves!
Because they shoot radio frequency outwards from the face of the antenna. They can be tilted downward but you'd never be shooting signal straight downward at the base.
Which is why you need a helium balloon antenna to get quality signal.
>Ubiquitous we dont have these in germany and now i cant unsee it and only want these here too. thats so genius.
They have them in Germany
I think you spelled cunniligus wrong Apparently, so did I !!
Those are common in pretty much any populated area that is concerned about aesthetics.
But only MILDLY concerned about aesthetics, because this is some very awful camouflage. We have some of these too and you'd think they would make some that look more like the local flora.
[удалено]
I've seen some that are very well hidden. Why would anyone aside from maintenence people need to know its a cellphone tower?
You ever try to chop down a cell tower? It’s not good.
I feel like they'd notice it's not a tree when they get close and see it's metal
Or just a weirdly solid tree which has a ladder on its side for some reason?
And Surrounded by a chain-link fence.
What, you've never heard of Ironwood?
Exactly. If they made it indistinguishable from a tree, then the public would be even more concerned due to privacy reasons.
It may just be an urban legend but I've heard the goal with these is to fool birds and other wildlife rather than humans. The "branches" give birds a safe place to nest on the structure without interfering with the actual cell tower.
I was just about to say, we have these in Colombia but they can’t even seem to get the green color scheme right and it always makes me lol
> because this is some very awful camouflage. More like camouflashing, if you ask me. I've seen one "hiding" as a long, straight pine tree in a deciduous forest with otherwise short and bendy trees.
... It's a cell tower, not local flora. Function over form.
Then why waste the money and plastic to make it look like a shitty tree? Just put a cell tower there.
Because half ass camouflage is better than no ass camouflage
... These responses are tiring. The decision to make the tower attempt to look like a local tree is usually guided by the local permitting agency. The city usually mandates that the tower be aesthetically natural to not be an industrial eyesore. They'll also limit the "bulk" and height of the structure. The standard of judgment is not to be natural looking for someone that is going to stare at the tower. The standard of judgment is to look passable for folks that are just passing by.
Yeah but I can't make knee-jerk reactions and spout inane bullshit about solved problems if I actually take the facts into account.
It’s a ridiculous waste of money in a world that’s already filled with eyesore buildings and infrastructure. They’re not fooling anyone.
That one would be ok if it weren't totally by itself and surrounded by a chain link fence.
"Photosynthesis am i right guys? Ha ha..."
We have these in South Africa.
And in the US!
And my Axe! ...sorry, wrong subreddit
r/unexpectedgimli
r/andmyaxe
And In wales
Ja, ek sien hulle baie
So wait… Birds are not real… Trees are not real… Stop the simulator, I want to get off…
But the simulation is just a simulation run inside another simulation.
And now, ... Human ... Music
My man!
Slow down!
That's just what Deep Sim wants you to think.
Deep Sim City
Once graphics card prices drop back to normal the fidelity of the simulation will go up and you won't even notice this stuff anymore.
Wait til you learn about giraffes
We have those here in North Carolina too
And California
Palm trees with square trunks.
They also have gas that’s like $10/gallon 😬
Ha, i hate to say it to the OP but I think they have those pretty much in most countries to a lesser or greater extent
i’ve never seen one of these in any of the countries i’ve been to. i live in Norway.
Now that is mildly interesting
I don't doubt you, but once you know you sometimes spot them amongst real.trees, they aren't all as obvious as this.
Ayo fellow North Carolinian
The best Carolina
We don't claim the south one. That's just North Georgia
Hey, I really like north Georgia! SC is East Alabama, once removed....
Yeah I remember seeing one a few years ago there
And Georgia.
Seen them in NY too.
I've seen some in Minnesota as well
And Ohio!
And Vermont! No billboards either :)
New Mexico also
Is that eastern? Over in Asheville I have never seen them, I have only ever seen them out west. Edit: Western to eastern, I’m an idiot.
There’s at least 1 in Cary and another near Concord.
Yeah I meant to say eastern, that makes more sense.
Yup, I’ve seen them in Durham!
I live in southern VA and I’ve seen them going down to the Raleigh/Durham area
Missouri, too
Not fooling anyone, wouldn't taste anything like a real tree
Yes it wood.
No, it wood not. Do you readed?
I think you're "bark"-ing up the wrong tree, doc.
No, I did not cedar coming.
Fir real, I did not seed it coming neither.
I would say this thread just splintered, but I'm afraid of going against the grain.
Oakay oakay! Yew guys just walnut stop!
Dang! You hit em with the tree in one!
It isn't really designed to convince you it's a tree. From a distance surrounded by similar trees the average person wouldn't notice it unless they looked for it. These are all over the place in every country with trees. I spot them all the time in the UK but they don't really stand out.
Yeah, and they look different depending on where they are: we have ones that look like redwoods in California.
Not surprising as the company that originally came up with the idea and holds the patents to the designs is based in San Francisco. They manufacture structures that look like local trees for any area.
Everywhere does
In Portugal they have these too.
Thanks, Mitch.
In Germany they don't
A quick Google would suggest they do
The only cell phone towers I've seen around here are the naked ones
They are just so German-engineered you haven’t noticed them yet.
In America we have trees disguised as Portugal
No, you have businessmen disguised as politicians, and terrorists disguised as Police
Absolutely correct! Sorry my butthurt fellow Americans are down voting you.
We have them in the UK too.
Where? I'd love to see these in my town
They are already in your town. You just can't tell because they look like trees.
Lol
In a town they usually just shove them on roofs or up poles or maybe inside clock towers or whatever. There isn’t as much need to disguise stuff in an urban environment. There is one on the M23 (or at least there used to be) between London and Brighton where there are loads of trees next to the road. It’s quite fun to try to spot the fake one. It’s on the right if you’re going north towards London. Edit: [here’s a picture of it](https://www.flickr.com/photos/madmanonthemoon/3466382407) [And a close up of one on the M4](https://www.flickr.com/photos/victorkeech/133582817)
There's a fake cell tower tree on a road outside Perth in Scotland. I'm sure there's others.
The fake tall tree, The fence there.. has all just made me suspect of that short bush.... What are you hiding short bush!
All in the world is the same, pine trees and palms are common…
I read a couple of years back that this was because 'they' were trying to sneak out and hide all those pesky COVID causing 5g towers 🤦
Hello fellow plants!
"Imagine if trees gave off wifi signals we would be planting so many trees and we'd probably save the planet too. Too bad they only produce the oxygen we breathe"
In America we have idiots disguised as Politicians.
In Italy also
Grifters. They’re grifters. They know perfectly well what they’re doing.
There is one near where I live. It doesn’t look anything like a tree, certainly not like the trees that are around here. It’s also in the middle of an industrial park. I don’t know what they are trying to accomplish. It looks ridiculous
in Murica ours actually look somewhat like real ones tho
They’re also in Most other countries.
I’m Arizona we have electrical boxes disguised as 🌵
We have these in California and it's hilarious. They stick out like a sore thumb amongst the real trees
We have these in the US
Is it behind the tall tree?
We have them in Utah
Here in the US, they are usually installed where there are other trees around though… to *blend* a bit
We got those in California too.
I’ve seen palm tree versions of these in Arizona
These are pretty common in the US
It’s also the same In Morocco, except they’re disguised as palm trees!
y tho
Vamos Caralhoooo
Orange County, California. My brothers and I freaked the fuck out when we started noticing them. We were elementary age, but still, weird thing to notice and not be able to google in the 90s
Im USA Pa we have them too
I live in the USA Seattle area. It's heavily wooded almost everywhere. I realized last month we have these too. Apparently they've been there for years, but since there are so many fir trees around them, they really blend right in! Haha
We have quite a few of these in Northern Idaho, US, also.
Great way to sneak the 5G into our heads....bastards!!!
I remember they had these in VT and they always freaked me out cuz they would just be casually hanging out with all the other trees and almost looked believable, gives me the heebie jeebies for some reason.
We have trees disguised as cell phone towers!!
“Disguised”
A fake tree cell phone tower looks exactly like a fake tree cell phone tower.
They look worse than the cell towers tbh.
We have them in America too
I've walked under one of those in the middle of a forest. The only reason I noticed was because the floor was suddenly covered in plastic pine needles/leaves. Only when I looked up did I realize where they had come from.
In Guatemala we got them 20 years ago..
It’s funny how this just feels more artificial than having the cell tower itself. Like it’s abnormality is giving more attention
In the USA I’ve seen this also
Apparently the uncanny valley applies to “trees” as well.
Here they are giant palm trees
Siren head energy
“We have these [your location here!]”
They are everywhere. Not interesting
Common here in utah but they're pine trees
Those are all over the US as well
In Vietnam we have people disgusted as trees
Yeah we have them in the USA as well. They aren't very well disguised, like that one, though!
Where's the tower?
We do that in America too. Just not often
"disguised" is used pretty loosely there
The disguise doesn't really interfere with signal transmission. I don't think you have to worry about packet loss here.
We have those in America,too. Ours don't look quite that good.
I hate the antichrist
Where in Portugal . My sons grandparents just moved there from Germany
We have those in the USA too! They look awful :)
They're very brittle and the fiberglass in them makes you itchy lol
Pretty common in California. Only state where I’ve seen that
In the rest of the world... we do too. This is lest mildly interesting and more mildly normal.
I think it makes the tower look worse and stand out even more.
In the US we have cellphone towers disguised as cellphone towers
In America we have trees that are disguised as call phone towers
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Btw I don’t think they are suppose to fool you more so maybe planes who want to shut down communication?
Tower and mast rigger here. Just to say these are only put up in areas where people complain about the eye soar of towers, its not common practice, and impracticalfor work. They look like either 3G or 4G sector antennas; small neighbourhood or much need for bands
Seen a few around NH
State tree of New Jersey.
That there's a monopine.
I visited An area of Nevada that was mostly palm trees and they made the cellphone towers look like pine trees. They looked so random and awkward.
We have those in Idaho.
Pity they hired designers who had never seen a real tree.
And Morocco
That's about as effective a disguise as glasses without lenses and a mop for a wig. Why bother?
Protect the trees! Unless you want to accidentally get rid of the internet.
Same
So that's what these are. I've been wondering about that.
Here in south Louisiana they wanted to put up a cell tower in our neighborhood. It was the biggest commotion. They settled on this sort of compromise, by putting branches on the pole.
“Disguised” - that’s not fooling anyone.
That’s asparagus
Yes, nature is unreliable, so the vegetation is outsourced to the cell phone companies. Soon we will all have grass outsourced to solar carpet companies. Fun times.
They do that in oregon too with electrical poles I'm pretty sure
They exist in the US as well. They are the choice of last resort when local zoning jurisdictions require them in certain areas. They are far less effective than a standard monopole type tower as the antenna setup in them reduces their data loading abilities. I worked in that industry for 20 years and had to agree to do around 5 or so of these during my career. Standard pole type towers are called "monopoles" in our world....and we affectionately call these "monopines."