Have you heard about 5G street lights? They’re basically just modified street lights enabled with 5G technology. Instead of using a separate tower or facility to provide 5G, companies can use 5G street lights instead. Pretty cool stuff.
But, to do that, those companies have to first hire an underground utility locator to ensure that it’s safe to dig up the old lights and replace them with the new ones. That’s where we come in.
Here at Enhanced Scanning, we’ve been part of numerous exciting projects, like finding a whale skeleton, exploring an underground cave, and locating underground objects at Superfund sites. No matter what we’re looking for, though, one thing remains consistent across every job: our meticulous attention to detail.
Providing utility locating services before a 5G installation calls for this level of detail. Underground scanning jobs like this are critical to keep people and property safe, and they provide enormous value for important events—like the Super Bowl.
5G Street Lights and the 2022 Super Bowl
It’s the L.A. Rams versus the Cincinnati Bengals at this year’s Super Bowl, which will take place at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, and the city of Los Angeles and the NFL plan to provide superior connectivity during the game.
They’ll accomplish this with a thriving 5G infrastructure. In preparation for the game, there’s been a huge push by the city to get tons of 5G street lights installed in time for the Super Bowl.
We’ve personally performed hundreds of underground scans for these street light replacements. Unlike one-off projects, however, replacing hundreds of street lights requires hundreds of utility locating jobs.
In the end, the cumulation of these jobs will result in reliable 5G connectivity at SoFi Stadium for the 2022 Super Bowl. Without private utility locating services, these 5G street lights couldn’t have been installed, and 5G wouldn’t be available at the game. Here’s why.
Why the City of L.A. and the NFL Needed a Private Underground Utility Locator
Underground utilities always have to be located before a construction project begins. It’s legally required that companies call 811 before any digging occurs. But, you can only call 811 for locates two weeks before a dig.
This presents a challenge because most telecommunications companies not only want to plan in advance for how their equipment is going to be wired, but they also want to know where it’s going to connect and other details about the job well before the two-week window. The 811 service will not locate utilities for these purposes.
Enhanced Scanning, a private underground utility locator, is available to help with this. We can locate everything weeks (and sometimes even months) before the actual street light replacement.
This allows companies to plan ahead and deliver projects on time. And, when you’re dealing with something as time-sensitive and high stakes as the Super Bowl, this can be invaluable.
While any telecommunications company will still have to call 811 before any actual digging starts, they’ll already have the information ahead of the 811 locates. In this case, 811 just confirms what the company already knows.
How We Tackled This Project
When we were engaged for these street light replacement jobs, our job was to scan and locate all the underground utilities around the old street lights to make sure it was safe to dig them up in preparation for the new lights.
We took a lot of scans, captured GPS points where there were underground targets, and provided an extremely detailed report at the end. These reports were extensive with numerous images, and we used GNSS receivers that are usually accurate to within a few centimeters.
Also, because we were doing so many scans, we had to develop SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to ensure all the areas were scanned the same way and that the report provided the same data in the same places every time.
It would be difficult to overstate how important these highly detailed, customized deliverables are for these projects. Through a fair amount of communication with the customer, we have established a very efficient reporting system that ensures that all of the important information is conveyed without any added fluff. A lot is riding not only on the accuracy of the information that we gather, but also on our ability to share that information effectively and efficiently.
Jobs like this can be difficult because street lights are in the right-of-way, so they’re on top of many utilities that could service hundreds of homes in the area. If anything is miscalculated or missed, the damage could be costly.
An Underground Utility Locator for All Your Jobs
Utility locating ties into many aspects of our daily lives. As the saying goes, everything is connected. Without our ability to accurately locate underground utilities, major projects like the 5G infrastructure for the Super Bowl either wouldn’t happen or could be significantly delayed.
Here at Enhanced Scanning, we’re willing and able to scan any site, and provide extremely detailed, useful reports as the outcome. It’s one thing to be an amazing underground utility locator, but it’s another thing to be able to effectively communicate what you located. We’re very good at both.
We truly take pride in locating everything underground that is locatable and then sharing that information in the way that our customers need. Our experience ensures that your site’s utilities will be located thoroughly, giving you peace of mind while digging. With us, you get accurate utility locating services, detailed reporting, and professional communication.
If you need an underground utility locator for any project, large or small, Enhanced Scanning can help. Contact us today.