It is very common in the US for government entities to build towers (for water storage or to fill a gap in emergency services 2-way radio coverage) and then lease space to carriers to offset the cost and reduce the number of towers in a area. I'd assume economics before spies if I saw a cell sector on a police tower.
Seeing as companies like Harris build equipment for both running and spying on cell networks, it may make sense for them to offer a tower-mounted system...
And honestly, if they want your cell data they can get it from Room 641A a lot easier than popping up government cell towers all over the nation. On the border, though, it makes more sense to surveil traffic which might not originate from within the US.
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It is very common in the US for government entities to build towers (for water storage or to fill a gap in emergency services 2-way radio coverage) and then lease space to carriers to offset the cost and reduce the number of towers in a area. I'd assume economics before spies if I saw a cell sector on a police tower.
Local law enforcement organizations do buy cell interception technology, regularly: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/09/meet-the-machines...
Seeing as companies like Harris build equipment for both running and spying on cell networks, it may make sense for them to offer a tower-mounted system...
And honestly, if they want your cell data they can get it from Room 641A a lot easier than popping up government cell towers all over the nation. On the border, though, it makes more sense to surveil traffic which might not originate from within the US.