Driving Down Costs With Surge Protection

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One of the most obvious ways to reduce the charges that customers must cover to remain profitable is to extend the life span of equipment. This means that when a piece of equipment is placed into service in any industry, it will have an operational life span that is relatively predictable. This measurement is not necessarily based on the expected life span that the manufacturer predicts, considering the wear and tear of normal operations. Instead, each industry must create their own expectations based on the ways that the equipment is used, and the environment it is used in. For example, the radios and transmitters used in the telecommunications industry atop cell towers will have an expected life span that considers normal wear and tear. However, when communication companies consider the equipment's longevity, they must also assess the risks from lightning surges. These threats produce damage that can both not be and can be avoided. Effective protection of cell sites in exposed regions must consider an entire suite of potential destructive elements. For example, lightning strikes to the tower or anywhere around it can allow a massive power surge to couple into the structure itself and the cables and wires that join equipment together. To function properly this equipment is interconnected in order to enable normal power flow to be supplied and for data to travel from component to component. These pathways are also used by the resulting power surge that comes from a lightning strike to move electricity from the strike point to adjacent structures. These induced surges can overwhelm any piece of equipment in their pathway. The result is damage to equipment that is potentially far from the strike point itself and a loss of functionality within that equipment chain. This results in customers not being able to connect to that tower and the need for repair and replacement of that equipment before its time.

Cost reduction in the telecommunications industry is necessary to keep customer prices low while still evolving to the latest technologies to remain competitive. The equipment in any tower costs thousands of dollars, which is only increasing as new technology is rolled out. In order to maintain the lower prices that consumers demand, telecom companies have needed to integrate surge protection equipment into the systems so as to avoid the lightning strike and surge threat. Through the redundant installation of devices along all pathways a surge can travel, we find that costs can be reduced over time. Extending the expected life span of equipment in the field is the best method for companies to remain competitive in the current telecom market. Ultimately, the evolution of even better surge protection devices and systems will further that cause. Saving capital expenditures through equipment protection is an essential part of the future network.