Bell Aliant Tower


The Bell Aliant Tower, formerly known as the Aliant Tower and older still, the NBTel Tower, is a tower of reinforced concrete located in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is used to provide directional radio services. It is the tallest freestanding structure in all four Atlantic provinces.

History

The NBTel Tower was the subject of litigation in John Maryon Int Ltd v. NB Telephone Co N.B.J. No. 387. In his decision on the case, Justice LaForest provided substantial background on the early history of the tower:
During the construction phase of the tower, only two people ever stood on top of the red beacon at the top of the tower, Bob Sweet and John Brophi, both were engineers on the project.
At the time of its construction, Aliant Tower was the tallest microwave communications tower of its kind in North America. It remains the tallest structure in Atlantic Canada, dwarfing the neighbouring Place L'Assomption, one of the tallest office buildings in New Brunswick, by 46 metres. Aliant Tower is also recognized for its importance as a symbol of economical and technological growth in Moncton's history. In choosing Moncton as the location for this innovative tower, NBTel claimed to be predicting where the growth of the Province as a whole would take place.
The tower's placement at the corner of Botsford Street and Queen Street is also significant. The tower sits on the site of Moncton's first telephone exchange, which was started in 1883 by George C. Peters with five subscribers.