Beacons are emblems used to mark individual Portals on the Scanner map screen and Intel Map. Deploying a Beacon will display its emblem above the Portal for nearby Agents of both Factions to see. A Beacon is not considered a Portal Mod and doesn’t occupy one of a Portal’s 4 Mod Slots.
Once you deploy a Beacon, it will appear above the Portal for 4 hours.
Beacons can be purchased in the Ingress Store or collected at special events such as Anomalies.