5G Small Cell Sites That Are Safe And Beautiful

Read More: https://www.raycap.com/streamline-your-rollout/

 

The investment into 5G technology is happening fast among the major carriers, who are each attempting to be the first in a region to offer 5G speeds. In many ways, this is a very important  differentiating factor that consumers are basing their cell phone carrier decision upon, deciding to stay with a company or switch to a different one. Once a customer has experienced 5G speeds, they are generally unhappy with the 3G and 4G existing networks, simply because of the improved experience that 5G offers. Streaming video content in 4K is now not only possible, but can be done with minimal buffering. Large file types like 3D renderings can now be transferred to handheld and wireless devices, where in the recent past this would not have been possible. Crystal clear calls and video chat from wireless devices is now standard, thanks to the improved speeds of 5G. With any improvement to a system will also come drawbacks, and within the 5G rollout that drawback is the infrastructure build out involved. 5G micro (small cell) sites in densely populated areas must be positioned close to end-users as well as other sites in order to maintain a network performance. Slower networks could have macro sites positioned upwards of a mile from the user, allowing these sites to be installed with little visual impact on the people using the network. Customers didn’t notice the equipment because it could be far away, but with 5G, specifically 5G mmWave, the equipment needs to be at street level or within visual eyeshot to function. This means that as 5G rolls out into more areas, you are going to notice a new array of enclosures on existing and new poles, and you are going to see them everywhere. For this reason, there has been a push to develop better installations that shroud this telecom infrastructure from view. Through the development of new materials like InvisiWave from Raycap, 5G mmWave and C-band antennas and radios can be positioned behind materials that will obscure them from view and create a better visual experience. While this improvement makes everything more appealing to the eye, it takes another type of advancement to make it safer.

 

The problem of electrified equipment being positioned around the public, or around utility workers who will need to encounter it daily creates safety issues. The possibility of accidents as a result of a component accidentally being live when workers encounter it grows due to the unique installation setups of each and every site. While there is a certain level of standardization in the equipment involved, the way that equipment is joined to the power supply can vary. Because of this issue, Raycap has created the combination AC disconnect / surge protection enclosures that not only provide a thinner and nicer enclosure for all the equipment, but also provide a single place for the power cut off to the entire site. The power is fed to the enclosure and to a metering device, then through a single cutoff breaker before feeding the equipment involved. This gives utilities the ability to ensure safe working conditions because the power to the entire small cell site can be shut off with a single switch. The combo disconnect enclosure is just ne of Raycap’s innovative developments in support of 5G networks coming to an area near you.