Your tower lights are a lifeline.

They protect aircrafts from collisions and they protect your company from federal fines. Plus, they can protect your career from a preventable outage that lands on your desk.

But the truth is: most tower operators still aren't doing enough to monitor them.

If that's you, you're not able to prevent the same issues that a more capable (and better-monitored) system can.

Let's fix that before it costs you.

Tower Lights Fail, and You Might Not Know It

Tower lighting is never optional. It's federally mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

According to FCC Part 17.47, any registered antenna structure must have its lights observed at least once every 24 hours. You have two options:

• Visually check the lights (which is wildly impractical and ramps up the chance of human error, especially if you pay someone outside of your organization to do this)
• Use an automatic alarm system that notifies you when the lights fail

And that's only the start.

If your lights do fail, you're legally required to report it immediately - and absolutely within 30 minutes. That doesn't mean when your technician finally arrives at the site, or at some point tomorrow morning when someone checks the log. These outages must truly be reported immediately.

If you don't, you're risking:

• Hefty FCC fines
• FAA violations
• Aircraft liability
• Reputational damage
• Service downtime
• Potentially, your job

Older Methods Don't Always Work Nowadays

You might be thinking:

"We've been fine for years using scheduled site checks."

Today, tower networks are larger, more remote, and more regulated than ever. You simply can't afford to miss a light outage - or delay your response.

Most older systems fail when there's:

• No automatic notifications - You don't find out until it's too late.
• No power backup - The system dies with the power outage.
• No FAA reporting guidance - Your team wastes time scrambling.
• No remote access - You're blind until someone's on-site.
• No protocol compatibility - Good luck integrating SNMP, Modbus, TL1, etc.

All of this adds up to a dangerously fragile setup.

Use a Monitoring System That Has Your Back 24/7

Suppose a lightning storm knocks out your tower light at 2:13 am. Within 10 seconds, you should get a text message and email. The message should say something like:

"A tower lighting problem has occurred.
Call the FAA IMMEDIATELY at 1-800-555-4262.
Latitude: 36.3N
Longitude: 119.6W
Height: 160'
Elevation: 1585'"

That way, you forward the message to the FAA and log the call - all within 30 seconds of the event.

That's real-time compliance and job security in action. And that's what the right monitoring setup does for you.

5 Must-Have Features for Tower Light Monitoring (Don't Buy Without These)

Now that we've looked at what's at stake, let's break down the non-negotiable features your monitoring gear must have.

If your system doesn't check every one of these boxes, it's time to upgrade.

1. Real-Time Notifications via SMS, Email, and SNMP

Alarms must reach you wherever you are - whether you're on site, in your truck, or at home.

Look for systems that can:

• Send SMS text messages (whether via email gateway or directly from a wireless gateway or built-in wireless)
• Email multiple recipients
• Send SNMP traps to your central NOC or SNMP manager
• Include FAA notification instructions in the message body

Anything less is just not good enough.

2. LAN and Dial-Up Connectivity Options

Remote tower sites often live in the middle of nowhere.

That's why your RTU should:

• Support LAN connections for reliable, fast reporting
• Offer dial-up fallback for low-bandwidth or off-grid environments
• Be configurable for static or dynamic IPs, VPNs, and firewall compatibility

You can't depend on internet alone in rugged telecom territory.

3. Battery Backup for Power-Out Conditions

Storms knock out power, and that's usually when your tower lights fail. If your monitoring system goes dark with the site, you lose visibility.

Choose RTUs with:

• Built-in battery backup OR dual DC inputs that can redundantly run on your protected DC power plant
• Low-power consumption modes
• Auto-reboot and watchdog timers

This way, your alarms keep flowing even when the commercial power grid fails.

4. Web-Based Interface (No Software Required)

The best monitoring system doesn't need bloated desktop software (or any software at all).

Look for gear that gives you:

• A full-featured web interface
• Accessibility from any browser
• Real-time alarm dashboards
• Manual control relay toggles
• Audit logs for compliance reports

You should be able to log in from your laptop, tablet, or even your phone.

5. FAA-Compliant Alerts with Actionable Instructions

This is where things go from "helpful" to "life-saving."

Your monitoring system should send fully detailed alerts with:

• Exact geographic coordinates
• Tower height and elevation
• A specific FAA notification phone number
• A suggested script for the FAA call

This makes sure your team reacts fast and stays compliant - automatically.

Utilize the Centralized Power of a Master Station

What if you have dozens (or hundreds!) of tower sites?

Monitoring becomes a nightmare if each site runs independently. You need centralized visibility.

That's where a master station like T/Mon comes in.

T/Mon pulls alarms from all sites into one intuitive interface. Features include:

• Graphical map views for fast visual status
• Protocol mediation for SNMP, TL1, Modbus, and legacy gear
• Mobile-friendly access for field techs
• Escalation rules to avoid alarm fatigue

Now you've got one screen to see and manage your entire network.

Working with DPS Telecom is an Advantage

We've spent over 35 years building rugged, reliable monitoring equipment for telcos, utilities, railroads, and government agencies.

We're not a startup, and we're not dabbling. This is all we do.

Our flagship solution for tower light monitoring utilizes NetGuardian RTUs from the NetGuardian G6 Series.

These RTUs deliver:

• Immediate alerts via SMS, email, SNMP
• 8 to 80+ discrete alarms, depending on model
• Analog inputs for temperature, voltage, and more
• Control relays for rebooting site gear
• Browser-based management (no install needed)
• Battery backup for power loss
• Optional cellular or dial-up for rural sites
• FAA-ready alert messages

Built for 24/7 mission-critical sites, the G6 line is:

• Hardened for harsh environments
• Backed by lifetime support
• Scalable for small or large deployments

It's the remote you install once, and it runs for years - quietly doing its job until something goes wrong.

Let's Get You Protected

Still unsure what gear you need? That's what we're here for.

Call us directly at 1-800-693-0351 or email sales@dpstele.com.

We'll walk you through:

• Site requirements
• Network considerations
• Model recommendations
• Budget options
• FAA reporting workflows

We'll even send you a custom proposal that lays everything out, so you can share it with your team or purchasing department.

You've got enough on your plate. Let us simplify this for you.