Introduction: The new infrastructure revolution in the 5G era ‌
With the accelerated advancement of global 5G network construction, base stations, as the core carrier of information transmission, have become the focus of the industry in terms of technological innovation and material upgrades. Recently, a new type of antenna made of FRP (glass fiber reinforced plastic, FRP) has emerged in the construction of 5G base stations at home and abroad. With its dual advantages of weather resistance breakthrough and signal coverage optimization, it has quickly become a popular choice in the communications industry. Industry insiders analyzed that the large-scale application of FRP antennas may become a key engine to promote the efficient and low-cost deployment of 5G networks.

‌1. Pain points in 5G base station construction: limitations and challenges of traditional antennas ‌
The high-frequency band (such as millimeter wave) characteristics of 5G networks put forward higher requirements for base station antennas: they must not only meet the stable transmission of high-frequency signals, but also adapt to long-term stable operation in complex environments. However, traditional metal antennas face multiple bottlenecks:

‌Poor environmental adaptability‌: Metals are susceptible to corrosion from salt spray, moisture, extreme temperature differences, etc., resulting in performance degradation, especially in coastal areas with high humidity and high salt or in cold areas, where maintenance costs surge.
‌Weight and installation problems‌: Metal antennas have a large weight, which increases the load-bearing burden of the tower, and the installation efficiency is low and there are safety hazards.
‌High signal loss‌: The reflection and absorption effect of metal materials on electromagnetic waves can easily cause signal attenuation, affecting coverage and transmission rate.
Against this background, the advent of fiberglass antennas provides the industry with a solution that is both economical and technically feasible.

‌2. Fiberglass antennas: a technological breakthrough driven by material innovation
Fiberglass is a composite material with glass fiber as reinforcement and resin as matrix. Its "lightweight, high strength, and corrosion resistance" characteristics have long been maturely applied in aerospace, shipbuilding and other fields. In recent years, communication equipment manufacturers have successfully introduced it into the antenna manufacturing field by optimizing material formulations and structural designs, achieving a comprehensive upgrade of performance.

‌1. Weather resistance breakthrough: "hard core" guarantee for full-scenario applications‌
Fiberglass has a corrosion resistance far superior to traditional metals. Experimental data show that its service life in a high salt fog environment can reach more than 20 years, which is more than 50% longer than that of metal antennas. For example, in a 5G pilot project in a coastal city in China, fiberglass antennas still maintain signal stability in extreme weather such as typhoons and rainstorms, and the failure rate is 70% lower than that of metal materials. In addition, it has a low thermal expansion coefficient and can withstand extreme temperatures of -50℃ to 80℃, making it suitable for harsh environments such as deserts and high cold.

‌2. Signal coverage optimization: dual upgrades from materials to design‌
Fiberglass has a low and adjustable dielectric constant, which can effectively reduce electromagnetic wave transmission losses. Combined with new processes such as 3D printing, the antenna structure can be designed into a more complex curved surface, significantly improving beamforming accuracy and coverage. Take the 28GHz millimeter wave fiberglass antenna released by a certain manufacturer as an example. Its horizontal beam width is extended to 120 degrees, the coverage area of ​​a single base station is increased by 30%, and it supports multi-band compatibility, helping operators reduce deployment density and costs.

‌III. Industry implementation: From pilot to scale-up‌
At present, fiberglass antennas have emerged in many 5G commercial projects around the world:

‌China Mobile‌ uses fiberglass antennas to build offshore coverage networks in Hainan's 5G marine ranch project, solving the problem of easy rust and difficult maintenance of metal antennas, and applications such as fishermen's live broadcast and remote monitoring have been successfully implemented.
‌A European operator‌ deployed fiberglass antennas in the Alps. Its lightweight characteristics increase the efficiency of helicopter hoisting by 40% and shorten the base station construction period by 60%.
‌Japan's NTT Docomo‌ combines fiberglass antennas with AI algorithms to achieve dynamic beam adjustment, alleviating network congestion in densely populated urban areas by more than 50%.
According to market research firm ABI, the global FRP antenna market will exceed $12 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate of 35%, and China is expected to occupy more than 40% of the global market share.

‌IV. Industry Chain Collaboration: Triple Drive of Technology, Policy and Market‌
The explosive growth of FRP antennas is inseparable from the collaborative innovation of upstream and downstream of the industry chain:

‌Material side‌: Companies such as Sinoma Technology and Jushi Group are accelerating the development of low-loss, high-strength FRP special resins, which reduces costs by 30% compared with imported products.
‌Manufacturing side‌: Huawei, ZTE and other equipment manufacturers have joined forces with universities to overcome antenna integrated molding technology, increasing production efficiency by 3 times.
‌Policy side‌: China's "new infrastructure" strategy clearly supports the construction of green communication facilities, and governments in many places have subsidized base station projects using environmentally friendly materials.
In addition, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has included FRP antennas in the "5G Sustainable Development Technical Guidelines", promoting it to become a recommended option for global 5G standardization construction.

‌V. Future Outlook: Opportunities and Challenges ‌
Although FRP antennas have broad prospects, their large-scale promotion still faces challenges:

‌Cost balance‌: The initial manufacturing cost is higher than that of metal antennas, and costs need to be reduced through large-scale production and technological iteration.
‌Standard unification‌: The industry urgently needs to establish a unified performance testing and certification system to avoid disorderly market competition.
‌Recycling technology‌: The recycling and reuse technology of FRP is not yet mature, and its environmental protection properties need to be further strengthened.
In this regard, industry experts pointed out that with the cross-border application of carbon fiber composite materials and the maturity of intelligent production technology, FRP antennas are expected to achieve further breakthroughs in cost and performance within 3-5 years and become the underlying standard of antenna technology in the 6G era.

‌Conclusion: Reshaping the "Chinese Solution" for 5G base stations ‌
The rise of FRP antennas is not only a victory for materials science, but also a microcosm of the communication industry from "following" to "leading". With the dual breakthroughs in weather resistance and signal coverage, this model of "Chinese smart manufacturing" is paving an efficient and sustainable path for the universalization of global 5G and even future 6G networks.