190 08-FAD 101 0991 Uen A

Grounding Guidelines
Copyright
Ericsson AB 2002 - All Rights Reserved
Disclaimer
The contents of this document are subject to revision without notice due to continued progress in
methodology, design, and manufacturing. Ericsson shall have no liability for any error or damages of any kind
resulting from the use of this document.

Contents
1
1.1
1.2

Introduction
Purpose
Target Group

2
2.1
2.2

Grounding and Bonding

Reasons for Grounding and Bonding
Description of Grounding and Bonding

3
3.1
3.2
3.3

Structure Investigation for RBS Sites

Structure Type 1
Structure Type 2
Structure Type 3

4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.7

Grounding and Bonding Arrangements

Grounding Termination for Green Field RBS Site
Bonding Zones
Typical Placement of Equipment
Bonding Arrangement of Tower
Bonding of Antenna and Feeder Cables
Protection for Active or Other Non-lightning Protected Antennas
Bonding of RF Cables Inside a Structure

5
5.1
5.2

Protection of AC Power Installation

Configuration of AC Power Installation Protection
Surge Protection and Bonding for AC Power Installation

1 Introduction
This document describes the grounding requirements for Ericsson products on an RBS site.
Note:

In this document the words "earthing" and "grounding" are used, the two words have the same
meaning.

1.1 Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide engineering requirements for RBS site grounding installation. The
document can be used as a guideline for RBS site grounding and bonding installation.

1.2 Target Group

The target group for this document is engineering and civil works personnel.
Technicians working on Ericsson products or systems must have the necessary training and competence in
order to perform their work correctly.

2 Grounding and Bonding

This chapter describes the basics of grounding and bonding on RBS sites.

2.1 Reasons for Grounding and Bonding

The two basic reasons for installing a grounding and bonding system on a site are the following:

To reduce the risk of injuries caused by lightning

To protect the equipment on an RBS site against destruction and functional disruption due to high
voltage and high current generated by lightning

Possible threats to an RBS site are the danger of catching fire, suffering from electronic damage due to high
voltage, high current, and functional disturbances; therefore an RBS site needs a better shield than the
building itself. The installation must be protected by a shield. Very often this shield consists of a Main Earth
Terminal (MET) and grounding wires to the different pieces of equipment, which are interconnected by one or
several bonding conductors. The arrangement is referred to by ETSI and IEC as the System Reference
Potential Plane (SRPP) and makes it possible to route signal cables between the units in the installation. The
introduction of a shielding system for an RBS site must be coordinated with the function of the building
lightning protection systems.

2.2 Description of Grounding and Bonding

Grounding and bonding are vital for enhancement of RBS site Electro Magnetic Compatibility (EMC) in a
complex environment, especially the immunity of RBS sites from fast transients and surges caused by
lightning striking the top of the tower directly.
General concepts and principles have been described and specified in the documents of international
commissions of ITU (ITU-T K.27), IEC (IEC 61024-1-1 and 61024-1-2), and ETSI (EN 300 253). The
grounding and bonding installation for RBSs follows the basic principles of the above documents also, taking
into account the radio function and EMC requirements of RBS products.
For construction of external Lightning Protection Systems (LPS) for both outdoor and indoor RBS sites with
tower mounted antennas, the following technical aspects are considered; Air-termination system, Down
conductor system and Ground-termination system.
Airtermination

A conductor rod vertically installed at the top of tower. It creates a Lightning Protection Zone
(LPZ) that minimizes the probability of tower-mounted antennas being struck by lightning

system

directly.

Down
conductor
system

The tower and a conductor wire, installed between the air-termination system and the earthtermination system, shares a large part of the injected lightning current to reduce the part of
lightning current along antenna cables.

Groundtermination
system

A number of interconnected ground electrodes in various forms including radial, vertical, or

ring electrodes in contact with the ground. For an indoor RBS site, the ground-termination
system can be a part of the steel reinforcement of the structure's foundation, interconnected
to other conductive networks of the structure. The task of the system is to provide the whole
RBS system with an equipotential reference, which has the lowest impedance in the RBS
system, in this way conducting the injected lightning current into the ground as much as
possible.

In short, RBS site installation with lightning surge protection is a procedure to construct a bonding system for
antennas, RBS cables, various RBS equipment, and power supply.
The bonding system is connected to the external lightning protection system and makes it possible to limit
lightning surges to levels under RBS equipment surge immunity levels.

3 Structure Investigation for RBS Sites

This chapter describes structure investigation of RBS sites.
A structure for RBS installation must be investigated in the matter of distribution and configuration of
conductive networks in the structure.
The results of the structure investigation include the following:

Condition of existing LPS in electric continuity and mechanical installation

Applicability of the elevators and the heat- and water-pipe networks to function as internal LPS, with
respect to local regulations
Location and complexity of a room for RBS equipment installation
Structure ground-termination system
Required number of earth-bonding bars and their location
Routing of RBS cables in the structure, concerning AC and DC cables, radio cables, and signal control
cables
Location of the building MET and the RBS MET

3.1 Structure Type 1

Structure type 1 has large steel reinforcement or large metallic framework in construction, LPS in normal
condition, and extensive metal pipe networks.

Figure 1
Table 1

Bonding Installation in Structure Type 1

Bonding Installation in Structure Type 1

Position
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Description
Bonding/Crimping points
LPS
Structure reinforcement
Water and heating pipes
Elevator rails
Building MET
Grounding ring conductor
RBS MET
35 mm copper conductor

The bonding principle for structure type 1 is illustrated in Figure 1.

The building MET is located at the structure base which is normally the structure steel-reinforcing foundation,
and connected to the earth terminations at each of the down-conductor ends.
Each of the LPS conductors must be thoroughly checked to obtain conductive connection to the common
building MET.
The bottom of each internal-conductive network, for example elevator rails, structure steel reinforcement, and
water and heating pipes are in conductive connection to the building MET.
A 35 mm copper conductor is installed to connect the RBS MET to the LPS at a near location.
At the top of the structure, each of the internal conductive networks are connected to the roof LPS.
Inside the structure, interconnection between internal conductive networks is always helpful.

3.2 Structure Type 2

Structure type 2 has neither steel reinforcement nor metallic framework in construction, but has LPS in
normal condition and metal pipe lines with some degree of density.
Note:

A type 2 grounding structure is the minimum requirement for a grounding system.

Figure 2

Bonding in Structure Type 2

Table 2

Bonding in Structure Type 2

Position
1
2
3
4
5
6

Description
Bonding/ Crimping points
LPS
RBS MET
35 mm copper conductor
Building MET
Grounding ring conductor

The bonding principle for structure type 2 is illustrated in Figure 2.

The building MET is created at structure base and connected to the ground termination which is normally the
structure steel-reinforcing foundation.
The LPS conductors are checked to verify that conductive connection to the building MET is obtained.
A 35 mm conductor is installed to connect the RBS MET to the building RBS MET and to the tower-bottombonding bar.

3.3 Structure Type 3

Structure type 3 has neither steel reinforcement nor metallic frameworks in construction, and an LPS in very
poor condition and few metallic pipe lines.
Note:

A type 3 structure is unacceptable and installation of a new LPS with the structure is required to
upgrade the structure from type 3 to type 2. The bonding configuration and installation must be
the same as shown in Figure 2.

The minimum level of the new LPS is defined as two 35 mm conductors to connect the tower-bottom-bonding
bar on the structure top to the building MET at ground level. The two conductors must be arranged at
opposite sides of the structure.

4 Grounding and Bonding Arrangements

This chapter describes the following:

Grounding termination for green field RBS site

Bonding zones
Placement of equipment
Bonding arrangement of tower
Bonding of antenna and feeder cables
Protection for active or non-lightning protected antennas
Bonding of RF cables inside a structure

4.1 Grounding Termination for Green Field RBS Site

Figure 3

Grounding System Example

Table 3

Grounding System Example

Position
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Figure 4

Description
Antenna support bonded to tower
Feeders
Grounding point for feeders
Tower legs bonded to ring ground electrode
Tower and building ground electrode interconnected
Ground wire to RBS MET
Ground wire to RBS MET from ring ground electrode

Typical Ring Conductor Arrangement

Physically large structures usually have a large and deep foundation made of many steel-reinforced concrete
supports or steel supports in direct contact with the ground. This is applicable for type 1 structures and green
field RBS sites. These configurations consist of a number of vertical electrodes and a ring conductor
surrounding the RBS site, see Figure 3 and Figure 4.
The ring conductor must run at least one meter outside all metal objects on the site. Any metallic fencing
crossing the ring conductor must be bonded to the conductor. The mean radius r of the area enclosed by the
ring conductor must not be less than 5 m. The tower must be bonded to the ring conductor by at least two
conductors.
The large structure base in type 1 structures of is sufficient to perform as a "natural" ground termination
system. It is not necessary to install special grounding termination for an RBS site located within the
structure.
Note:

The building MET must be securely connected to the grounding termination system.

4.2 Bonding Zones

The bonding zone concept applies to the installation of cabinets in RBS rooms or RBS shelters. The different
bonding zones are classified according to the maximum length of D. D is the physical distance between the
RBS MET and the cabinet farthest away.
The bonding zones are classified as follows:

Bonding zone 1 maximum length of D is < 5 meters

Bonding zone 2 maximum length of D is < 10 meters

Bonding zone 3 maximum length of D is

Note:

10 meters

The maximum length of D is limited to 15 meters in this document.

Figure 5

Multi-Group Bonding Zones in RBS Room

The bonding zone concept may be extended when applied to bonding a large system including multi-group
equipment, for example, two groups of equipment placed in two different bonding zones, as shown in Figure
5.
Note:

4.2.1

The RBS MET must be installed in each of the equipment groups. It is forbidden to directly
interconnect any equipment between cabinets of two different groups. If this interconnection is
necessary, the connecting cables or bonding wires must be routed through the RBS MET of each
cabinet group, and also through the cable lead in.

Cabinets Bonding Measures

The solution for bonding cabinets must be selected corresponding to in which bonding zone the cabinets is
ranged. See Table 4 for proper solutions for the maximum length of D in the bonding zone.
Table 4

Bonding Measures

Equipment Location

Bonding Measures

Bonding Zone 1
Bonding Zone 2
Bonding Zone 3
4.2.2

Single-conductor bonding
Double-conductor bonding
Double-conductor bonding with extra measures

Bonding Alternatives

This section describes single-conductor bonding, double-conductor bonding, and double-conductor bonding
with extra measures.
Single-Conductor Bonding
Bonding in zone 1 when the maximum length of D is < 5 meters.

Figure 6

Single-Conductor Bonding of Cabinets

Table 5

Single-Conductor Bonding

Position
1
2
3
4

Description
35 mm grounding conductor
Cable with high surge immunity
Grounding bolt
35 mm cabinet grounding conductor

As shown in Figure 6, a 35 mm grounding conductor is mounted along one side of the cable ladder. The top
of the cabinet is bonded to this conductor through a short 35 mm grounding conductor. The short conductor
should not be longer than 0.8 meters.

Figure 7
Table 6

Cable Arrangement in Single-Conductor Bonded Ladder

Cable Arrangement

Position
1
2
3
4
5

Description
Grounding conductor for bonding
Feeder cables
Signal control cable
DC cable
AC cable

All cables in the cable ladder must be carefully arranged, see Figure 7. In principle, the cable which has the
highest shielding effectiveness and high surge immunity in both terminal interfaces is placed closest to the
bonding conductor. An example of such cables are the feeder cables in comparison with other types of RBS
cables. For the same reason, cables more sensitive to disturbance are located at or near the middle of the
cable ladder.
Double-Conductor Bonding
Bonding in zone 2 when the maximum length of D is < 10 meters.

Figure 8

Double-Conductor Bonding

As shown in Figure 8, two 35 mm grounding conductors are mounted at each side of the cable ladder. A

number of short conductor joints are installed at intervals of 1.5 meters across the cable ladder to connect the
two grounding conductors.
The cross-sectional area of the short conductor must not be less than 35 mm . If a short conductor joint is
close to the cabinet top, this joint may be used to bond the cabinet.
For bonding a cabinet which is placed under the cable ladder, a conductive joining bar must be installed just
over the cabinet. One 35 mm short conductor is installed between the conductive joining bar and the
earthing bolt of the cabinet. The short conductor should not be longer than 0.8 meters. If the length is more
than 0.8 meters, two 35 mm conductors joining from each of the grounding conductors are used for
connection of the cabinet.

Figure 9
Table 7

Cable Arrangement in Double-Conductor Bonded Ladder

Cable Arrangement

Position
1
2
3
4
5

Description
Grounding conductor for bonding
Feeder cables
Signal control cable
DC cable
AC cable

The cables on the cable ladder must be arranged in such a way that the cables that are more sensitive to
disturbance are located at or near the middle of the cable ladder. An example is given in Figure 9, showing
where to place the signal control cable and DC cable in the middle of the ladder .
Double-Conductor Bonding with Extra Measures
Bonding in zone 3 when the maximum length of D is

Figure 10

Extra Measure Example

10 meters.

Extra measures are required only if maximum distance (D) from RBS MET has to be longer than 10 meters,
and may perform as a cooperation of double-conductor bonding, see Figure 10. A typical example of when the
extra bonding measure is required is when an extra conductor is installed to reduce the bonding "distance"
between RBS MET and the cabinet farthest away.
4.2.3

Bonding of RBS Main Earth Terminal

Figure 11

Indoor RBS Grounding System

Figure 12

Outdoor RBS Grounding System

To protect the equipment from electrical fields all large metallic parts are bonded together and connected to
the grounding system. See Figure 11 and Figure 12.
The following objects must be bonded to the RBS MET:

The closest LPS with a 35 mm conductor

The outer cable shield of each coaxial cable

The ends of the earthing conductors to the cabinets along the cable ladder

The PE conductor of AC power supply for RBS equipment in TN-S installation. Local regulations for other
AC power installations must be taken under consideration, see Chapter 5
The grounding conductor from the tower bottom bonding bar, if any

4.3 Typical Placement of Equipment

The three most common placements of RBS equipment are described in this chapter.
Line Type Placement
The first recommended solution for placement is to place the group of cabinets as close as possible to the
cable lead-in so that the RBS MET can be placed close to the cable lead-in.

Figure 13

Line Type Placement

If a room has enough space all RBS equipment may be placed in a straight line along one side of the room,
see Figure 13. A straight cable ladder placed above all of the RBS equipment is enough.
Ring Type Placement
The second solution is if a room has some space along the room walls, RBS equipment must be separated in
groups that are placed in the available spaces.

Figure 14

Ring Type Placement

The cable ladder is installed in a "ring" form above all RBS equipment, see Figure 14. The extra 35 mm
conductor connecting the two sides of the "ring" bonding conductors, is only required if the maximum distance
(D) from the RBS MET is more than 10 meters.
Tree Type Placement
The third solution for the situation is a tree branch.

Figure 15

Tree-Type Placement

A long straight cable ladder located in the middle of the room with a number of short straight cable ladders
positioned as branches of the trunk extending to above each group of RBS equipment, see Figure 15.

4.4 Bonding Arrangement of Tower

Figure 16
Table 8

Bonding of Antenna Tower

Bonding of Antenna Tower

Position
1
2
3
4

Description
Air-termination rod
Tower-down conductor
Bonding points
Lightning protection system and reinforcing

Tower-down Conductor Requirement

A tower is normally made of galvanic steel frameworks. The bonding required to be installed is one towerdown conductor in connection between the tower top and the tower-bottom-bonding bar. The type of towerdown conductor is selected as a 35 mm copper conductor. The tower-bottom-bonding bar is in solid
connection to the framework of the tower bottom. The top terminal of the tower-down conductor is connected
to the bottom of the air-termination rod which is a corrosion free rod approximately 0.5 meter long. The airtermination rod creates a lightning protection zone of 45 degrees for antennas and additional equipment, see
Figure 16.
Exemptions from Tower-down Conductor use
The tower-down conductor is not required in the following three cases:

The tower is installed with aluminum cable ladder with electrical conductive continuity through the
tower.

The tower is made of aluminum alloy.

The number of the RF feeder cables along the tower is more than five.

Tower Bottom Bonding Requirement

The tower bottom must be connected to the lightning protection conductors surrounding the structure roof
with at least two bonding conductors at opposite sides of the tower base, see Figure 16. Each bonding
conductor must be connected to a main leg at the corner of the tower. Each of the bonding conductors must
also be directly connected to the tower-bottom bonding bar.
If the building structure has steel reinforcement in floors and walls, the structure rooftop reinforcement is
connected to the foundation of the tower framework.
Note:

This installation must be permitted by a relevant department of local government and performed
in accordance with local regulations.

4.5 Bonding of Antenna and Feeder Cables

In principle, all grounding references of antenna and additional equipment must be connected to the towerdown conductor with copper conductors as short as possible, preferably not exceeding 0.3 meter. The shields
of all tower-mounted cables to antennas and other equipment are connected to the equipment cabinet
grounding references. Through these connections, the cable shields are bonded to the tower-down conductor.
It is recommended to keep all the antenna cables grouped together and routed inside the tower framework.
At the bottom of the tower framework on the structure rooftop, the outmost shield of each of the cables must
be connected to the tower-bottom bonding bar through a cable conductor, preferably not exceeding 0.3
meter.
Exemptions from Bonding of Antenna and Feeder Cables
The bonding of the cable shields at the tower bottom is not required in the following two cases:

If the total cable length from antenna and additional equipment to the RBS MET is not more than 25
meters

If the cable length from the tower bottom to the RBS MET is not more than 15 meters

Recommendation of Extra Bonding Point

Figure 17

Extra High Tower

An extra bonding point of the cable shields should be considered to be installed at the middle of the tower, or
every 30 - 40 meters if the tower is extra high, as shown in Figure 17. This measure is aimed to protect the
cable outer insulation, and to further reduce the transient current on cable shields if lightning strikes.

4.6 Protection for Active or Other Non-lightning Protected Antennas

Figure 18

Antennas on Roof

For an RBS site system including active or other non-lightning protected antennas positioned far from each
other on the rooftop of the structure, the solution is to install a lightning intercepter rod for each of the
antennas to create a local lightning protection zone, see Figure 18. Each of the antennas must have a
distance of more than 0.5 meters to its lightning intercepter rod to ensure no direct flashover from the
lightning rod to the antenna and its cables during a high and transient lightning current flowing through the
rod.
Note:

The distance of 0.5 meters is minimum and valid for the height of the lightning intercepter rod
under 6 meters. Accordingly, the distance must be somewhat increased if the height of both the
lightning rod and the antenna equipment is increased.

4.7 Bonding of RF Cables Inside a Structure

All RF cables between the tower bottom and RBS room are normally routed along the bonding conductor from
the tower-bottom-bonding bar to the RBS MET, see Figure 1 and Figure 2.
The basic requirement is that each shield of the RF cables is connected to the tower-bottom-bonding bar at
one side and to the RBS MET at the other side. In special cases, see Section 4.5.
Note:

When the cable length from the grounding point at the tower bottom to the RBS MET is more
than 100 meters, a bonding point of the cable shields must be introduced uniformly every 50
meters. The purpose is to limit high transient voltages across the outer insulation of cables to be
protected from electrical break-down.

5 Protection of AC Power Installation

This chapter describes protection systems for AC power.

5.1 Configuration of AC Power Installation Protection

Figure 19
Table 9

AC Installation Example
AC Installation

Position
1
2
3

Description
Connection to grounding system
For TN-S systems
Connection only permitted for TN-C-S power system without neutral

Structure AC installation in single or three phases are normally made of unshielded cables. The AC networks
can be of different systems like TN-S, TN-C-S, TN-C, TT, and IT.
Table 10

AC Systems Explanation

System
TN-S
TN-C-S
TN-C
TT

IT

Explanation
Throughout the system, a separate protective conductor is used.
Neutral and protective functions are combined in a single conductor in a part of the
system.
Neutral and protective functions are combined in a single conductor throughout the
system.
One point directly grounded at the transformer, the exposed conductive parts of
the installation are connected to ground electrodes electrically independent of the
ground electrodes of the power system.
All live parts isolated from ground or one point connected to ground through an
impedance at the transformer, the exposed-conductive parts of the electrical
installation are grounded independently or collectively to the grounding of the
system.

The AC power installation bonding must be made according to IEC 60364-3, Electrical installation of buildings
Part 3: Assessment of general characteristics
For the different systems the following are valid:

For TN-S installation, the PE conductor must be directly bonded to the RBS MET.
For TN-C-S installation, Both PE and N conductors or PEN conductor must be directly bonded to the RBS
MET.
For TN-C installation, the PEN conductor must be connected to the RBS MET through Gas Discharge
Tube (GDT) or spark gap.
For TT installation, the N conductor must be directly connected to the RBS MET through GDT or spark
gap.
For IT installation, the N conductor must be directly connected to the RBS MET through GDT or spark
gap.

5.2 Surge Protection and Bonding for AC Power Installation

The Surge Protective Device (SPD) units must be installed as close as possible to the RBS MET. The RBS MET
provides the SPD units with a high quality grounding reference.
AC power cables must in principle be arranged to enter the RBS room through the cable lead-in. The AC
cables are terminated at each of the equipment in the room. This part of the AC network for the RBS site
must be protected from overvoltage.
If AC installation cables have to enter into the RBS room at a second point instead of the RBS MET, the cables
must be routed through the RBS MET as well. Care has to be taken with unprotected AC cables in RBS rooms.
In the following solutions there is one recommended solution and two alternatives.
Recommended Solution
A distance of minimum 0.2 meters must be kept between the unprotected AC cables and any other cables or
equipment distributed inside the RBS room, see Figure 20. If this condition is fulfilled, protection and bonding
at the second entrance are not required.

Figure 20

Unprotected AC Cable

Alternative 1
The unprotected AC cable must be shielded using a common cable sheath. The shield must be connected to
the RBS MET at one end and to the building MET at the other end, see Figure 21.

Figure 21

Shielded AC Cable

Alternative 2
Another AC SPD must be installed at a proper distance to the AC SPD at RBS MET, see Figure 22. AC cables
can now be brought through the second AC cable entrance. The distant AC SPD must be bonded to the
building MET.

Figure 22

AC Cable Through a Second Entrance