Sky-Futures wins multi-year global telecoms contract for drone-based tower surveys

Sky-Futures Partners Ltd (an ICR company) has been awarded a four-year global framework contract for the provision of drone-based cell site surveys by a Scandinavian, multinational network and telecommunications company.

Under the contract, Sky-Futures will support the scope of work on a global scale, using its operational bases in the USA, Europe, Middle East and South East Asia, as well as leveraging its ongoing experience conducting drone based operations in 31 countries. The drone-based cell site survey service forms part of the global network build plan supporting the rapid growth in the development of the telecommunications network. As the network grows, so will the number of structures and therefore the requirement for cell site surveys.

Chris Blackford, Sky-Futures CEO, said: “Traditionally, conducting cell site surveys requires a team with several different skill sets and the need to climb the towers. With the introduction of drones, site surveys can now be completed with a much smaller team, collecting high quality data more quickly and more safely.”

Once the data has been collected, Sky-Futures will upload the cell site data into AI (artificial intelligence) enabled cloud software to support the global network build programme. Engineers can then make decisions using the 3D model tower data from a remote desktop without having to incur unnecessary site visits. This not only supports enhanced health and safety but helps reduce costs through improved efficiencies of the global network build programme. 

Sky-Futures is already working with tower owners and operators providing cell site surveys and integrity inspections. Maintaining the health of these critical structures is crucial to ensuring smooth operations and reducing the risk of downtime.

With a well-established and respected reputation in the drone-based inspection and survey market, this contract win is another success in the accelerated growth that Sky-Futures has seen since its acquisition by ICR in May 2019. Mr Blackford comments, “The contract win is an exciting opportunity to further enhance our position in the telecoms market and to add to our global footprint in supporting this leading telecommunications customer.”

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