Those modern eyesores the mobile telecom mast and the cable heavy base station may soon become things of the past thanks to the work done by an Irish research group.

"This is a radical overhaul of how mobile networks are built," Adolfo Hernandez, president of Alcatel-Lucent EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region, told then press this week.

Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs research group in Dublin has developed new antenna designs and energy management systems that have radically redesigned the traditional masts and stations.

The new miniaturized antennas eliminate the need for the big bulky mobile masts that currently dot the landscape.

The new hatbox-sized units can be mounted on streetlamps, buildings and telephone poles with minimum disruption to the surrounding architecture and will deliver to 2G, 3G and 4G networks, requiring only half the energy to run.

"This was an Irish-led project, said Hernandez told the press, that also included contributions from research teams in Europe, the United States and China.

Bell Labs established an Irish centre in Blanchardstown in 2005 with €25 million in support funding from IDA Ireland.