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Microcell PCS Equipment Pictures
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Microcell Connexions' equipment serves GSM providers including Fido, Cityfone, and SimPro. Microcell Connexions installs and maintains the sites and the sites are often, but not always, marked with their card or sticker. Western Canadian tower sites often have two units at the base, the larger one holding the cellular equipment (below, left) and the smaller unit holding power distribution circuitry and T1 connections (below, middle). Eastern Canadian sites often use a single equipment shelter (below, right).

Make sure to read my opinion of Fido PCS and see the Comparison Plans page.

Microcell cellular equipment unitMicrocell power distribution unitEquipment shelter

Microcell Connexions prefers to install their equipment on hydro towers and will take advantage of them whenever possible to avoid municipal height restrictions on new towers. Older Microcell cells are white or grey in colour, rounded at the front and flat at the back. I usually refer to these cells as 'egg-shaped' since this is what they look like when viewed on end. Newer Microcell cells look extremely similar to Telus Mike and newer Telus Mobility PCS cells -- thick, white or grey, with a five-sided front.

>Microcell equipment tags. Often attached to cabling on macro and repeater sites and are a good way of identifying their sites. (Added 28 Feb 2001)

<Microcell site at Kingsway and Main, Vancouver East. (Added: 19 April 2001)

>Close-up of Microcell cell located on the roof of a hydro sub-station at Nanaimo and 1st, Vancouver East. (Added: 19 April 2001)

<Microcell hydro tower site, West Burnside at Trans-Canada. This site uses egg-shaped cells with vertical shielding.

>Microcell Connexions business card attached to outside of this site.

<Microcell hydro tower site, Jacklin Road, just north of CanWest Mall on an environmental monpole.

>Close-up of the cells at the top of the monopole tower at Peden RV in Sidney. This was where I had my picture taken for the Victoria Times-Colonist article in 1998 for issues dealing with cell phone towers.

<Potential controversial Microcell repeater installed on a house in Saanich. These types are very uncommon in residential settings due to the potential protests from residents over radiation concerns. Microcell did a really good job hiding this repeater in hopes that the general public won't see it as they drive past on a major road. (Added 17 July 2002)
<Microcell monopole tower, Trans-Canada, just east of Millstream overpass. These cells are rounded at the front. Telus Mobility/Clearnet also has PCS equipment at this site (added after this picture was taken).

>Microcell tower above Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal Operations Tower. The equipment to run this site is at the lower right (just right of the arrow) behind a fence. Telus Mobility/Clearnet has a repeater located about 25m to the south on a wooden telephone pole. (Added 28 Feb 2001)

The tower that eventually led to the development of this website.

Microcell set up this tower early in 1998 and painted it forest green and installed a set of PCS cells. This site is located along the Pat Bay Highway, just before the Keating Cross Road turnoff. There were no cells on the tower when the picture on the left was taken (just the rack to hold the cells); also note the microwave dish at the bottom of the picture.

In January '99 the height of this tower was almost doubled (right pictures) and the existing Microcell PCS cells were moved to the top. A new rack was added for Telus Mobility/Clearnet PCS cells below the Microcell cells. A new microwave dish belonging to Telus Mobility/Clearnet was added and Microcell removed their microwave dish (which pointed north, not south like the newer Telus Mobility/Clearnet one).

Fido cells at UVic<Microcell site on UVic stadium lighting pole, East Saanich. Both Telus Mobility and Telus Mobility/Clearnet have sites above the stadium. This site was installed in the fall of 2000 after many complaints over lack of digital services in the Gordon Head/Cadboro Bay area.

>Microcell Connexions equipment cabinets at this site. The soccer game in the background is Canada vs. Jamaica. (Added 04 March 2001)

>Microcell Connexions repeater behind Scale at northern entrance to George Massey Tunnel, Richmond East; Close-up of equipment box used on this repeater.
<Microcell repeater in North Vancouver. Diamond receiver at top of telephone pole and regular Microcell egg-shaped cell lower down. Pictures taken by Craig Bowers.

<'Double Repeater' in Nanaimo at the Duke Point turnoff on the Island Highway. The lower diamond cell points downtown; the upper diamond cell provides feed from another repeater further south. Daisy-chaining repeaters allows Microcell to extend their highway coverage without the expense of placing extra macro sites in locations with low user demands. (Added 01 April 2001)

Duke Pt. turnoff, Nanaimo
<Microcell PCS 'fat' cells along Pat Bay Hwy at Haliburton road. These are a temporary solution as a new location for a tower must be found. Microcell had a temporary tower near this spot and removed it in early '99 due to public complaints.

>Microcell PCS tower west of Landsdown Mall, Richmond West.

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