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Your tower sites are the backbone of your network. When a power supply fails at 2 AM, when HVAC stops working during a heat wave, or when someone tries to access your equipment shelter without authorization, you need to know immediately.
That's where remote monitoring becomes essential. Instead of hoping everything's running smoothly, you get real-time visibility into every critical condition at every site. Problems are caught early, before they cascade into service outages or equipment damage.
At DPS Telecom, we've spent 37 years helping organizations like yours protect their tower infrastructure. Our NetGuardian RTUs and T/Mon alarm management platform serve over 1,500 companies worldwide, from small regional carriers to major utilities with thousands of sites.
We'd like to help you design a monitoring solution that fits your network perfectly.
Every tower site is different, but the support infrastructure that keeps your transmission equipment running is remarkably consistent. Here's what matters most:
| What You're Protecting | What We Monitor | Why This Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Power Systems | AC voltage, battery voltage, rectifier status, generator operation | Power problems are the most common cause of site failures. Catching voltage issues early prevents equipment damage and service interruptions. |
| Environmental Control | Temperature, humidity, HVAC status, airflow | Electronic equipment has narrow temperature tolerances. An HVAC failure can destroy hundreds of thousands of dollars in equipment within hours. |
| Physical Security | Door contacts, motion sensors, access control | Unauthorized access isn't just a security issue. It's often the first sign of theft, vandalism, or someone making unauthorized changes to your equipment. |
| Safety Equipment | Tower lighting status, backup systems | FAA regulations require immediate reporting of tower light failures. Automated monitoring ensures you're always compliant and can respond quickly. |
The goal isn't to monitor everything possible. The goal is to monitor the right things so you can prevent problems before they impact your network.
NetGuardian remote telemetry units sit at each of your tower sites, continuously collecting data from your equipment and sensors. When something goes wrong, you know about it immediately.
Here's what makes them effective:
Built to Your Exact Specifications Every NetGuardian we build is configured specifically for your application. Need 8 discrete inputs and 4 analog inputs for a small site? We build that. Need 32 inputs with cellular backup for a critical location? We build that too. There's no extra charge for custom configuration - it's just how we work.
Connect However Makes Sense for Each Site Your sites probably don't all have the same connectivity options. Some have Ethernet, others still use T1 circuits, and remote mountaintop locations might only have cellular. NetGuardians support all of these: Ethernet, serial, T1, fiber, GSM/CDMA cellular, or even dialup for legacy sites. Each site uses whatever connection makes the most sense.
Works With What You Already Have If you already have a SCADA system or network management platform you're happy with, our RTUs integrate seamlessly. They speak SNMP, DNP3, Modbus, and other standard protocols. You're not forced into our T/Mon platform unless it makes sense for your operation.
Built for Harsh Environments Tower sites aren't climate-controlled data centers. NetGuardians are designed for outdoor equipment shelters, extreme temperatures, and challenging conditions. They keep working reliably year after year.
If you're managing more than a handful of sites, looking at individual RTUs becomes impractical. That's where T/Mon comes in.
The T/Mon master station aggregates alarms from all your tower sites into a single, intuitive interface. You see your whole network at a glance, drill down when you need details, and configure exactly how your team gets notified about different types of problems.
Visual Network Overview T/Mon displays your network topology on a map. Color-coded icons show you the status of each site instantly. Green means everything's normal. Yellow and red indicate active alarms. You can drill down from regional views all the way to individual equipment racks, making it easy to understand exactly what's happening and where.
Smart Notifications That Actually Help Not every alarm should go to every person. With T/Mon, you configure exactly who gets notified for each type of alarm. Tower light failures go to the person responsible for calling the FAA. Generator fuel alarms go to your refueling contractor. HVAC problems go to your facilities team.
Even better, you can build response procedures directly into the alarm notifications. When a new technician receives an alert, they know exactly what to do - no need to call senior staff or hunt through documentation.
Support for Unlimited Users Your entire team can access T/Mon simultaneously. Role-based permissions control what each person can see and configure, so you can give field technicians view-only access while supervisors have full control.
Let's look at some common applications where our customers rely on remote monitoring:
If you have FAA-required tower lights, you need to know immediately when they fail. NJ Transit uses our RTUs to monitor microwave towers with FAA-required lighting. They get real-time status when lights turn on at night and off during the day, and immediate notification if a bulb burns out. This ensures they can report to authorities and dispatch repairs without delay.
Your generators are your last line of defense during power outages. Monitoring voltage, runtime, and fuel levels means you get low fuel warnings before the tank runs dry. You can also track start/stop cycles to schedule preventive maintenance based on actual usage rather than guesswork.
Battery systems fail gradually, not suddenly. By measuring voltage continuously, you catch failing batteries before they leave your site vulnerable during the next power outage. Some of our customers even configure automatic generator starts when battery voltage drops below safe thresholds.
Temperature and humidity monitoring in equipment shelters gives you advance warning before expensive gear overheats. Airflow sensors verify your HVAC is actually working, not just running. You can prevent equipment failures instead of responding to them.
Door contacts and motion sensors tell you when someone enters your site. You log all access events and receive immediate notification of unauthorized entry attempts. This isn't just about security - it's about knowing when someone might be making changes to your equipment without proper authorization.
We've been building monitoring systems since 1986. Here's what nearly four decades of experience has taught us:
Custom Engineering Is Standard, Not Extra Unlike vendors who offer one-size-fits-all solutions, we configure every system to your exact requirements. No compromises. No non-recurring engineering fees for reasonable order volumes. If you need something specific, we build it. That's just how we operate.
Quality That Lasts Decades Over 172,000 DPS devices have been deployed worldwide. Many customers from the 1980s still rely on equipment we built for them decades ago. We design for a 20+ year service life because that's what critical infrastructure deserves.
One Vendor, Complete Solution You get both RTUs and central monitoring software from a single manufacturer. Everything integrates seamlessly. One relationship, one point of accountability, simplified support.
American Manufacturing You Can Trust All our products are designed and built at our facilities in Fresno, California. This means direct access to our engineering teams, rapid response to custom requirements, and complete control over quality.
Real Engineers, Not Call Center Scripts When you call technical support, you speak directly with engineers who designed your equipment. These aren't call center representatives reading from scripts. They're problem-solvers who can actually help you.
A single prevented incident typically justifies your entire monitoring investment. Consider what you're protecting against:
Emergency truck rolls cost $500 to $2,000 per visit - more if you need helicopter access to mountaintop sites. Equipment damage from overheating or power issues can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars. Service interruptions affect your customers and your reputation. FAA fines for unreported tower light failures add up quickly.
Remote monitoring changes the equation. You catch problems before they become emergencies. Technicians arrive when scheduled maintenance makes sense, not when crisis demands it. You prevent the expensive failures instead of responding to them.
Entry-level NetGuardian RTUs start around $700. Compare that to the cost of one emergency repair visit and the ROI becomes clear.
"We are monitoring nine tower sites, plus our 911 center. We are getting analog inputs for generator voltage, and microwave signal fade. Discrete alarms might be door entry, or temperature high/low, things like that."
"We have 2 microwave towers with FAA-required lighting. The RTUs monitor the lights for us. They give us real-time information if the lights go on at night and turn off in the day or if a light bulb burns out."
Start With a Conversation We'll discuss your tower monitoring requirements and current infrastructure. Our application engineers will ask questions to understand what you're trying to accomplish, not just what products you think you need.
Try Before You Commit Our 30-day loaner program lets you test equipment in your actual environment. You only pay shipping costs. See how it works at your sites before making any decisions.
Custom Configuration for Your Network Once you know what you need, we build your RTUs to exact specifications. Every input, output, and communication option configured for your application. This typically takes about 2 months for custom builds.
Training and Ongoing Support We provide comprehensive training to ensure your team can use the system effectively. Lifetime technical support is included with every purchase - not as an add-on, but as part of our commitment to your success.
Complete Satisfaction We back our solutions with a money-back guarantee. If you're not completely satisfied, return the equipment for a full refund.
How many tower sites can one monitoring system handle? T/Mon scales from a handful of sites to thousands of locations. For smaller deployments, NetGuardian RTUs can send alerts directly to your team without needing a central master station at all.
What if my sites use different communication methods? That's completely normal. NetGuardians support multiple transport options, so sites with Ethernet use IP networks, remote sites use cellular modems, and legacy sites keep their existing serial or T1 connections. Each site uses what makes sense.
Can you integrate with our existing SCADA system? Yes. NetGuardian RTUs report to third-party systems via SNMP and other standard protocols. We work with SolarWinds, IBM OpenView, and other enterprise platforms. You're not forced to replace what's already working.
What happens if communication to a site fails? T/Mon detects communication failures and alerts your team immediately. Many customers configure NetGuardian RTUs with dual transport options that automatically fail over to backup connections if the primary path goes down.
How quickly can you deliver a custom configuration? Most custom RTU builds ship within 2 months from specification approval. Standard configurations often ship much faster. If you have urgent timing requirements, let us know and we'll work with you to meet your schedule.
We've helped over 1,500 organizations protect their critical infrastructure with custom-engineered monitoring solutions.
Whether you're managing a handful of sites or a network of thousands, we'd like to understand your requirements and recommend the right approach.
Call us at 725-240-1717 to discuss your tower monitoring needs, or request a detailed quote through our contact page.
