Overview of ITU-T SG5
Work on Damage
protection and safety
Guy-Michel KOUAKOU
Chairman of Study Group 5 Regional Group for Africa
(SG5 RG-AFR)
Vice-Chair SG5
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Terms of Reference
Study Group 5 is responsible for studies:
 on ICT environmental aspects of electromagnetic
phenomena and climate change;
 related to electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), to safety
and to health effects connected with electromagnetic fields
produced by telecommunication installations and devices,
including cellular phones.
Study Group 5 is lead SG for:
 Environment and climate change
 Electromagnetic compatibility and electromagnetic effects
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ITU-T Study Group 5
7 Questions
WP1/5
Damage
prevention
and safety
WP3/5
ICT and climate
change
5 Questions
WP2/5
Electromagnetic fields:
emission, immunity
and human exposure
6 Questions
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Working Party 1 (WP1/5)
Work areas:
 Q1/5 - Copper cables, networks and fibre-optic connection
hardware for broadband access
 Q2/5 - Protective components and assemblies
 Q3/5 - Interference to telecommunication networks due to
power systems and electrified railway systems
 Q4/5 - Resistibility and safety in telecommunications
 Q5/5 - Lightning protection and earthing of
telecommunication systems
WP1/5
Damage
prevention
and safety
5 Questions
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4
WP1/5: damage prevention and safety
Highlights on deliverables:
ITU-T K.12 - Characteristics of gas discharge tubes for the protection
of telecommunications installations
ITU-T K.21 - Resistibility of telecommunication equipment installed
in customer premises to overvoltages and overcurrents
ITU-T K.27 - Bonding configurations and earthing inside a
telecommunication building
ITU-T K.56 - Protection of radio base stations against lightning
discharges
Guide on the Use of the Overvoltage Resistibility Recommendations
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5
Question 5/5
Lightning protection and earthing of
telecommunication systems
Main Study Area:
 Protection of fixed telecommunications lines, including the lines made of
symmetric conductors, coaxial cables and non-metal-free fibre-optic cables, as
well as lines used for remote power feeding of telecommunication equipment;
 Protection of mobile and wireless systems, in particular radio base stations which
very often have their antennas installed in high structures exposed to lightning
discharges;
 Protection of telecommunication stations (central office), in particular those that
make part of the network’s backbone and, therefore, require a high reliability;
 Utilization of the data from lightning location systems (LLS) to optimize the
network protection;
 Protection of users of telecommunications services from the dangerous effects of
lightning discharges;
 Bonding configurations and earthing of telecommunication installations, including
earthing of power feeding systems in co-located environment;
 Requirements for earthing and equipotential bonding under transient conditions,
as those caused by the fast raising currents associated with subsequent lightning
return strokes;
 Maintenance methods of bonding configurations and earthing.
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Question 5/5
Lightning protection and earthing of
telecommunication systems
Main Tasks:
 New Recommendation on the protection of installations
at the neighbourhood of telecommunication towers;
 New Recommendation on the use of the data from
lightning location system (LLS) for network protection;
 Lightning protection and earthing total solution for
Radio Base station site ;
 New Recommendation on the assessment of the
conformance of Radio Base Station regarding lightning
protection and earthing
 Lightning Protection of the Dedicated Transformer for
Radio Base Station
 Lightning protection and earthing of miniature wireless
base station
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Highlight on K.56
 ITU-T K.56 presents the techniques applied to
a telecommunication radio base station in order
to protect it against lightning discharges.
 The need of protection is obtained from the
methodology contained in IEC 62305-2, which is
used to determine the relevant lightning
protection level (LPL) for the installation. The
protection techniques for the external area
cover the lightning protection system (LPS),
bonding procedures, earthing and the
installation of surge protective devices (SPDs)
at the power meter station.
 The protection techniques for the equipment
building cover the feeder and lighting cables,
the electric power conductors, the
telecommunication cabling and the
earthing/bonding procedures applied to cable
trays and equipment frames.
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Deliverable under study: K.arcb
 ITU-T K.arcb provides the technical requirements and
measurement methods to assess the validity and
reliability of the lightning protection and earthing system
of radio base stations (RBSs). It focuses on the quality
controlling in the process of construction, acceptance,
daily inspection and maintenance. The total solution for
the lightning protection of RBSs should refer to [ITU-T
K.56], [ITU-T K.97] [ITU-T K.TOT] and other relative
Recommendations;
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Additional information
 ITU-T/SG5 “Environment & Climate Change”
itu.int/go/tsg5
 ITU-T/SG5 Series K Recommendations (free of charge)
itu.int/ITU-T/recommendations/index_sg.aspx?sg=5
THANK YOU!
tsbsg5@itu.int
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