Saint-Gobain SHEERGARD® solution delivers optimal 5G performance to Jersey Shore
US interconnection specialists, RF Industries (RFI), provides a portfolio of small cell concealment products and integrated solutions to facilitate the rapid deployment of 4G and 5G infrastructure. A wireless carrier serving the Jersey region chose RF Industries technology when seeking to introduce 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) at a well-known tourist hotspot on the Atlantic coast.
Saint-Gobain Composite Solutions teamed up with this innovative partner, using our SHEERGARD® material to meet a complex challenge.
The project involved concealing the equipment from being too prominent in a busy tourist area.
Problem/ Challenges
The Jersey Shore location presented a multifaced 5G infrastructure challenge. The communications and smart city specialists needed to:
- Deliver consistently high-performing 5G network capacity.
- Conceal the small cell equipment to meet aesthetics requirements while maintaining full RF performance. Avoid a proliferation of unsightly equipment on the city’s famed boardwalk.
- Find a concealment solution that could easily support additional tenants using different equipment and 5G network technologies without degrading performance.
- Fully protect the small cell equipment from harsh seaside conditions where salt spray and high winds can quickly damage sensitive RF equipment.
- Ensure it would be easy to upgrade the system and provide routine equipment maintenance.
Solution
RFI's Trufield ™ Pole Top Shrouds, built with Saint Gobain’s SHEERGARD® outer shell material, met the requirements for 5G concealment, transparency for superior signal strength, and overall coverage essential to the success of 5G rollout in the area.
SHEERGARD® fabrics have a unique and lightweight outer shell material that provides the following in terms of solution success:
Low transmission loss
SHEERGARD® shows less than 0.2 dB loss at any angle of incidence up to 60°, whether low-band, mid-band (C-Band) or mmWave frequencies are used. SHEERGARD® provides far superior RF transparency than traditional concealment options that degrade network performance and limit coverage, especially at millimeter wave frequencies.
Protection from water damage
TruField™ offers a unique, lightweight structure that contains SHEERGARD® self-cleaning, hydrophobic material that repels water, mold, and mildew, keeping the shroud virtually maintenance-free. Preventing water accumulation and water sheeting across the surface is vital to maximizing 5G coverage. Surface water significantly degrades RF signal strength, so it is key to minimize its effect through proper material selection.
Mechanical strength: SHEERGARD® fabric, as used in the TruField™ shroud, is band agnostic and mechanically strong enough to provide the required structural integrity at an extremely low thickness (typically around 0.2mm [0.008”]).
Easy access for maintenance & Installation
The shrouds unzip easily to provide 360° access to the interior, making it fast and cost-efficient to add and upgrade equipment. A proprietary, controlled air-flow system enables optimal equipment operation at all times.
With their lightweight, modular construction and mounting flexibility, TruField™ concealment shrouds are easy to install on any pole top. The shroud can be installed using only a socket wrench to engage the proprietary tensioning system housed inside.
Thermal dissipation and heat management
The high frequency of 5G networks generates more heat than previous systems, requiring improved thermal management solutions. By using SHEERGARD® structural fabric, TruField™ shrouds minimize thickness and maximize thermal conductivity to improve thermal dissipation. Structural fabrics are 3-5X thinner than all other radome solutions and have 10-15X higher thermal conductivity.
5G Concealment
Sleek and modular, a variety of color options helps these innovative shrouds blend into any environment.
Results
Independent lab tests confirmed TruField™ concealment shrouds, backboned by the highly influential technology of SHEERGARD®, resulted in virtually no transmission losses. These shrouds provide far superior RF transparency than traditional concealment shrouds that degrade network performance and limit coverage, even at millimeter wave frequencies.
SHEERGARD® material and TruField™ 5G technology combined with an intelligent modular design by RF Industries facilitate 5G through agnostic performance, improved thermal management, and easy installation.
The use of SHEERGARD® ensured minimal thickness in front of the array, the fabric’s thickness remaining small enough compared to the signal’s wavelength not to induce excess loss or scattering. The material ensured optimum performance at any operating frequency regardless of band, indigence angle, carrier frequency or future innovations.
The qualities provided by SHEERGARD® also ensured hydrophobicity and water repellence in an environment dominated by difficult sea conditions while facilitating the need for an unimposing structure in a densely populated, popular tourist area.
Pole-top concealment shrouds saw the efficient and discrete deployment of the wireless carrier’s small cell infrastructure equipment at dozens of locations along the Jersey Shore while ensuring outstanding 5G performance. Measurements confirm the wireless carrier’s customers now enjoy download speeds of more than 2 Gbps and upload speeds of more than 200 Mbps in the area.
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