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The rollout of 5G networks relies upon “small cell” installations of network equipment at relatively specific distances apart. This differs from previous iterations of 4G and 3G with regards to the amount of space between equipment installations that can be covered before areas of dropped coverage form. Macrocell tower sites were able to be much farther away from the devices accessing the network, as well as from each other. Distances of nearly a mile between equipment installations were possible without a loss of coverage between them.

5G microsites or “small cell sites” offer far faster speeds with regards to data transfer across the network, but do so at the expense of distances that can be placed between network nodes. This translates to far more equipment being placed within the regions that people physically interact within, with equipment being placed at street level and within about one-tenth of the distances that 3G/4G allows. The increased speeds are welcomed, but the increased amount of telecom infrastructure equipment installed within an already packed visual landscape is not. The result is an effort towards effective concealment, blending equipment in with existing structures or shrouding it all together to avoid a cluttered look.

Within urban areas, this is especially important as many push to keep the architectural and oftentimes historical integrity of the region above all progress. While exterior installations of 5G microsites are challenging, even more, challenging can be the installation of 5G networks within large enclosed spaces. In areas like airports, stadiums, arenas, malls, or other venues, the offering of 5G network speeds to customers is highly desired and often expected by the patrons. The problem is figuring out ways to install the equipment in the regions where people are physically interacting without creating visual blights.

In areas like Tampa International Airport, this goal has been effectively achieved through the use of both creativity and technologically advanced materials. Deploying 5G mmWave small cells inside an enclosed space is similar yet different from the methods used for external applications like poles and rooftops. In these specialized installations, the equipment must be incorporated into walls and ceilings up above where people walk and converge. The small cell concealments must be not only visually appealing but also provide safety aspects for airport workers who may need to access them directly for maintenance, all the while with throngs of customers.

Through the use of optional power disconnect devices integrated within the small cell setups, maintenance can be done without the potential mishaps that might come with working with electricity inside of areas that are accessed by the public. The use of Raycap’s InvisiWave^® technology also allows for the 5G mmWave equipment and antennas to be mounted behind the concealments yet within proximity to customer traffic, presenting no visual clues that it is there. This specialized material allows 5G signals to move through it without disruption, yet provides enough stability to be used in the construction of small-scale concealments. The result has been the integration of 5G services through high-traffic areas of the airport, accessible to customers without showing itself to them. The new wave of 5G small cell concealment is possible with Raycap’s InvisiWave material and its other Stealth concealment product line

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

There is a land grab happening all across the world as cellular carriers attempt to build the fastest new networks possible for their customers. The intense competition among the major players in this industry is legendary and leads to a situation where the companies offering the fastest speeds and best coverage are the ones who stand to gain the lion’s share of new customers, with the competition being left behind. For the most part, right now this relies upon new 5G technology, which allows significantly faster download speeds, as well as more seamless video play, gaming, and clarity of call reception. The difference between 5G speeds and 4G is noticeable, so it is not like customers are debating the switch if they have experienced it.

Simply put, if one network offers 5G speeds in a region and another does not, there is a good chance there will be many consumers switching to cell phone providers. For this reason, networks are aggressively rolling out as many 5G microsites or “small cell sites” as possible, in an attempt to be first to the table to offer 5G speeds in a region. This means that there will continue to be a significant increase in noticeable infrastructure equipment positioned on utility poles, street light poles, and other structures in the urban right of way shortly, with estimates predicting an increase from 180,000 to more than 800,000 of these microsites within the next few years. The microsites must be positioned around one-tenth of a mile apart, unlike the 3G/4G network nodes that can have a mile or more between them while still providing excellent coverage. The increase in the amount of new telecom infrastructure equipment that will need to be mounted all around people, and the need for it to quickly be brought online by the utility once installed, calls for standardization and streamlining of equipment both for beauty and for safety.

Raycap’s new connectivity and protection device made to streamline equipment wiring of 5G microsites is the combination AC disconnect enclosure. This device brings together a number of the existing disparate boxes that had been installed to a pole into just one slim line enclosure, replacing the need for many ugly boxes to be attached to a single small cell pole site.  The units improve the ease of installation and serve to clean up and streamline the jumble of wires, and electrical equipment that’s necessary for functionality. The product also acts to help standardize not only the look and feel of externally mounted boxes but also the power connectivity, providing a routing for AC power to move first through a metering device and then to a single disconnect or circuit breaker before going on to other equipment in or on the small cell pole.

This method enables the utility whose workers will need to power up the equipment once installed, or maintain it should that become necessary, to work around or with the small cell equipment safely. Through this kind of product standardization, utility workers can cut the power to an entire small cell site with a single breaker, being confident that they have eliminated exposure to live lines that may be providing power to the site. The units also add a layer of protection for the public, who will be in far closer proximity to these installations than ever before, due to the necessity for them to be so close to the devices themselves. The combination AC disconnect enclosure is an elegant solution that furthers the carrier’s desire for a 5G rollout that blends into the landscape while also providing electrical protection and safety.

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

5G mmWave small cell installations are a challenge for operators who face pressures from both city planners and the public with regard to equipment placement and aesthetics. The understanding that 5G networks must utilize more equipment packed into more dense spaces to provide full functionality without dead regions is being pushed back by those who wish to keep their cityscapes looking as they did in the past. All progress in the technological arena involves equipment, and without that equipment mounted and positioned as necessary, the technological forward motion cannot happen. There must be a balance between the technology and the living spaces of human beings to create a pleasant environment, and the modern “smart city” is designed to be more functional than ever while also hiding the necessary equipment from public view to maintain the look and feel of the region. Few people want to live in an area that is overly dominated by industrial equipment, so 5G rollouts have been punctuated by the need to also create concealment possibilities that are technologically advanced as well as pleasing. With 5G mmWave small cell network nodes needing to be positioned at or just above street level in many cases, and within one-tenth of a mile of each other, this challenge increases significantly.

The effort to move forward on approvals and installations while still moving toward online connectivity is being tackled by Raycap, a company that develops innovative concealment solutions that are both flexible and technologically advanced. Through a multitude of concealment types ranging from partially concealed to fully concealed, Raycap is using innovation to speed the process of 5G rollout unobtrusively. Just a few of these innovations are seen in the use of its InvisiWave^® concealment technology, new integrated poles and side-mounted enclosures, rooftop solutions, and additional elements like AC disconnects featuring Strikesorb surge protection designed to ease installations and ongoing maintenance. InvisiWave technology enables the concealment of 5G mmWave radios and antennae with a material that does not hinder or degrade the performance of the 5G signal.

Through the development of streamlined and uniform mounting arrangements that can be used on small cell poles or pole-mounted enclosures, the installation of 5G equipment within densely packed urban areas at street level is easy with almost no visual impact on the appeal of the region. Where poles cannot provide the installation needed then rooftop solutions, externally mounted building enclosures and a myriad of other methods of concealing equipment can be used. It is possible to utilize artistic measures to mimic colors, textures, and visual elements to provide a visual blending into a background. Using additional elements like AC quick disconnect systems, equipment installations can also be updated and worked on by utility maintenance workers in a far less risky way, enabling the cutoff of power to the installation quickly and easily. Through these types of innovations in concealment and electrical protection and access, Raycap is leading the way towards faster and more simplified 5G rollouts within nearly any city environment, giving 5G mmWave networks the ability to improve the lives of citizens without negatively impacting them.

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

While “out of sight out of mind” is certainly the mindset that drives the use of specific enclosures such as street cabinets that hide the existence of telecom equipment, it is not primarily driving the need behind concealment of small cell 5G components. While the creation of a visual landscape that is not dominated by the equipment used in the process of keeping us connected is a motivating factor, the consistency and equipment used under that concealment structure as well as the ability to easily access or disconnect it quickly is also a factor. With the advent of 5G technology we as citizens will have a better experience with regards to the speed of information download and streaming to our devices, but we may do so at the expense of landscape and aesthetics sometimes. The previous generations of connectivity equipment set the standard that we’re used to with placement of radios and antenna at the tops of towers in a distributed base station architecture that can communicate some distance – a mile or more –  while ultimately providing a good cell phone signal. We have grown used to the visual aspect of a cellular tower or equipment every mile or so and understood that the “blight” on the landscape was necessary in order to provide convenience and coverage. 5G technology provides far faster speeds, but the distances between installations must be placed at far shorter distances due to the different signal and frequencies. The desire for faster download speeds means people will need to get used to the mounting and installation of far more equipment, equipment that will be placed closer together and almost at street level in many cases. Simply put, this creates a situation where we will be better connected but the landscape becomes dominated by the equipment providing that connection. Through both unique technology as well as innovative concealment techniques, operators have developed both standardized and completely unique methods of placing the equipment used in the 5G process “out of sight.”

Structures are identified as being in the correct place and position in order to provide the nodes for 5G equipment used in a network. These structures are chosen due to their placement distances from the other small cell sites, as signal degradation creates “dead spots” where signal strength reduces dramatically. This creates a situation where 5G equipment must be positioned within or connected to structures that already exist in a specific place. If that structure offers a high point like the roof of a building, the challenge becomes ways of placing that equipment on top the building so as to provide 5G coverage. Another way might be to mount the 5G equipment in a concealed box that is made to match existing architecture and mount it on the side of a building. Through the use of innovative techniques as well as materials that allow the 5G mmWave signals to pass through with little to no degradation of the signal, the goal is always to place the equipment where it is not going to be noticed. If the equipment cannot be hidden inside a structure, then the creation of a housing that mounts to the structure externally but still blends into the totality of the landscape is preferrable. Raycap, utilizing it’s STEALTH product line as well as unique materials like InvisiWave^® allows 5G mmWave equipment to be appropriately and beautifully concealed while also providing the best signal strength necessary.

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Concealment is the art of hiding something. There can be many reasons for concealment of equipment, the most appealing being the need for something to exist without the negative impact that its presentation could cause. A good example from the past of concealment are the power lines that feed every home and business. These power cables must come into contact with any structure that they are tasked with feeding power to, and the easiest method of doing so is to run power lines suspended in the air on poles, ultimately connecting them to homes and businesses. This suspension makes the lines easier to connect and work on, but ultimately dominates the visual landscape in order to achieve connectivity for everyone. Some areas desire to streamline the visual landscape by removing these types of items, but the disconnection of power is not an option to do so. As a result, the concealment efforts brought innovations that allowed the cables to be laid underground. Through the development of techniques and materials to service this new type of installation, power connectivity in these regions did not have to be disruptive or ugly.

The transition from 3G and 4G to 5G wireless communications involves the installation of a significantly increased amount of equipment with nodes that need to be positioned closer to one another and to users. This means that for a 5G signal to be useful to a person on the ground, the radiating equipment must be close to them at slightly higher than street level. In order to create an effective network 5G mmWave equipment must be installed within only one-tenth of a mile or so from another installation. This increase in the amount of equipment in order to achieve the goal of 5G connectivity would be visually shocking, and as a result the concealment industry has stepped up. The concealment industry is being led by companies like Raycap who with their STEALTH^® line of concealment products are constantly developing new materials and techniques to hide equipment without compromising its ability to do its job. Materials like Raycap’s InvisiWave^® allow for 5G mmWave equipment to be shrouded and enclosed into structures without impeding the 5G waves being transmitted and received by radios and antenna. Concealments using InvisiWave material can be designed in a way that blend into the surrounding environment, ultimately enabling the 5G equipment to be positioned as necessary, without being noticed or seen. Additional creative methodologies are being used to provide concealed, partially concealed, or fully concealed street light poles; as well as street cabinets, pole toppers and side-mounted shrouds. These installations blend 5G small cell sites into the existing landscape seamlessly, concealing them within light poles that are already necessary and accepted by the public. Other concealment options that allow for equipment attachment on roof tops also present unique opportunities through the use of InvisiWave screen wall apertures that can be painted to match existing rooftop structures made of brick or stucco. Through blending the equipment into the background effectively, 5G technology can be rolled out without the upset that can come to residents by noticing changes to their environment. The smart city can be beautiful as well as functional.

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A push to modernize our urban regions in America to attract both new citizens and businesses that would employ those citizens is happening everywhere. City planners now realize that they cannot rest on their laurels in terms of the ambiance and connectivity services offered in their cities. They cannot simply draw on the mystique of the past to gain new future residents. Instead, the race towards modernization is driving decisions, and the desire to both create a modern infrastructure while also keeping the beauty of the landscape in place is the dream of the modern “smart city.”

A “smart city” can be described as one where internet connectivity and high-speed communication are easy and stable. People today are intrinsically connected to others through their smartphones or wireless devices, allowing them to not only communicate and entertain themselves but also work effectively. Slow internet and spotty communications networks make it difficult to attract people to want to live in a region and result in increased frustration. If people know that there is better internet connectivity in other areas, they will choose the other areas. Those who come to settle in those areas do so not only to utilize the services available but also to be around other people who share a passion for a particular locale. Therefore a push to integrate 5G technology into the city landscapes has been on the upswing, but making sure that the equipment used in the developing infrastructure is hidden is also a large part of the process.

The completely functional and interconnected city landscape in the modern world could take on a very dystopian look if not for the desire to preserve the aesthetic look and feel of a region. One drawback to 5G technology, which is the backbone of the “smart city” is the necessity to install a significant amount of equipment at street level and within the visual plane of people going about their daily routines. 4G and previous iterations allowed for signals to travel further distances without degradation, enabling operators to install them on the larger “macro” towers. But 5G signals travel shorter distances from node to node, and need to be in closer proximity to each other and the 5G devices, so as the desire to achieve higher speeds with more bandwidths becomes stronger, so does the need to install equipment into places where people are not used to seeing it. This ultimately creates a sense of destroying beauty in favor of technology.

Raycap understands that the rollout of 5G worldwide must include new equipment and positioning based on the types of radios and antennae used, so they have developed new and innovative methods of concealing the infrastructure equipment from view while also keeping the signal at maximum strength. This is being accomplished through the design of structures that seamlessly integrate into an existing landscape in the form of Next Generation Integrated streetlight poles that replace existing lighting structures with a pole that can hold or house  5G equipment and antennas. They also create unique and completely custom solutions that allow the masking of wireless communications equipment that is less easy to conceal or needs to be externally mounted. Through the use of their unique 5G mmWave concealment material (InvisiWave), as well as creative techniques for keeping the landscape’s general look and feel intact with visually appealing textures and patterns, Raycap is paving the way for the modern smart city, with its elegant and technologically advanced STEALTH concealment solutions.

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

As the demand for 5G speeds increases across the world, unique challenges are being faced by telecom companies as they attempt to satisfy their customers’ demands while still being respectful to city and county aesthetics. This is especially the case in densely packed urban areas with thousands of users wanting to utilize 5G networks without having spotty coverage areas or worse having no connectivity at all. The challenges are relatively simple to understand, but the solutions are technologically complex. 5G networks rely heavily on small cell sites to provide connectivity, due to the higher frequencies that are used in the process and the inherent propagation loss that comes with those frequencies. ISD (inter-site distances) for many of the current 5G mmWave radios have been shown to have limitations of one-tenth of a mile, translating to a simple issue: a large number of small cell sites are needed to provide 5G coverage in these regions. These sites also need to be positioned closer to the ground than previous iterations of networks, meaning that they are placed within the visual plane of thousands of users. From a usage standpoint, the answer is simply to integrate the equipment into the positions necessary to provide good coverage. From an aesthetic standpoint, the solutions are more difficult, as this equipment must be blended into unique regions in a way that does not conflict with the aesthetics of the area. Especially in historic regions, this can be challenging.

One of the most obvious solutions to the issues of equipment concealment pleasingly and unobtrusively is to use the existing lighting poles in a right of way, integrating the equipment within the structure or covering it externally. Street lighting poles present this opportunity in nearly every urban environment, allowing for the effective concealment of AC and DC-powered 5G mmWave as well as 4G antennas and radios. These concealment options can also hide the AC disconnect functions needed for each location, and contain effective surge protection devices and other telecom infrastructure equipment.

The STEALTH concealed small cell pole by Raycap accomplishes these goals while also maintaining the aesthetic integrity of an area. Through the use of “pole toppers” the antenna and necessary equipment that relies upon clear signal receipt and transmission can be positioned at the top of the structure. Raycap’s unique InvisiWave^® material can be used in the concealment process as 4G and even 5G mmWave signals are unaffected by it. Concealment of the 5G mmWave radios and antennas is one of the biggest challenges of the small cell concealment process. Through the top positioning and the use of InvisiWave, not only is the pole more visually appealing, but it can also achieve optimal performance.

STEALTH concealed or partially concealed small cell poles allow for integration into the urban environment in a way that meets the required coverage patterns while still allowing for future upgrades. The pole toppers (or radomes) can host different brands of 5G mmWave radios and are also backward compatible with lower frequency brands as well. They allow for orientations of radios and antennas to be different as necessary, along with these radios being mounted on different levels or back-to-back. The outcome is a technically advanced solution that advances the use of 5G coverage without destroying the visual integrity of any area.