10 Unusual Places to Stick a Small Cell

Small cells, those low-powered wireless access points you've been hearing about all month here on Light Reading, are all the rage right now.

Their moniker refers both to their physical size -- from small enough to hold in your hand to six cubic feet depending on the type -- and also to the lower power that they emit. Despite not being the largest or the most powerful, they bring plenty of benefits, such as eating up less energy (read: they won't cost an arm and a leg), providing targeted coverage and allowing flexibility in their placement. (See Know Your Small Cell: Home, Enterprise, or Public Access?)

That last point is what we're going to focus on in the following slideshow. Public access small cells are currently being mounted on lampposts and anywhere operators can bring backhaul all over the world, often in urban areas. This means operators will get the most bang for their buck while reaching the greatest amount of people possible, which obviously makes quite a bit of sense, but sometimes sense is overrated. What about creativity and possibility? Where's the sense of adventure?! (See Lessons From Your Friendly Neighborhood Small Cells and Urban Jungle Is Still Too Wild for Small Cells.)

We think people in far-flung locations, travelers all over the world and the occasional hang glider should have just as much access to connectivity. We've gone ahead and picked out where we think small cells should be placed. They may not always reach the masses and backhaul will be a challenge for most, but they'll certainly cover a lot of territory. (See The World's 6 Most Extreme WiFi Hotspots.)

Click on the photo below to see our recommendations for small cell locations, and let us know where else you'd like to stick 'em in the comments.

Great Pyramids

The Great Pyramid of Giza, standing 455 feet tall, is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 2010, nearly 15 million people visited the pyramids, but the number has declined rapidly since then. Our theory? Not enough coverage.
[Source: Wikimedia]

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