Pepro redesigns micro-site solution
Shielded enclosure-systems manufacturer Pepro recently unveiled a redesign of its popular Micro Radio Site, which the company hopes will penetrate the cellular arena, in addition to its use in land-mobile-radio networks.
Key innovations to the solution — a fully functional site that can be deployed by a single person in less than three hours — is a reduction in the overall weight and a more rugged axle and frame, so it can be transported more easily on secondary and mountain roads, according to Kelly Lander, a vice president at Pepro.
“It’s just streamlining it, reducing the time that they’re going to have to spend putting the whole installation together, reducing the weight of it, so it hauls easier and can be hauled with a small ATV,” Lander said during an interview with Urgent Communications. “A lot of the modifications that happened came as a result of it being out in the field and a lot of the radio techs making good suggestions and recommendations.”
Tested by Lightning Technologies to withstand more than 1 million volts and 87,000 amps without interrupting operation, the Micro Radio Site comes in a small footprint and does not require excavation or foundation, according to the company. These attributes make the Pepro solutions more attractive in areas with strict environmental regulations, or in networks that might require sites to be moved to address coverage or capacity needs, Lander said.
Sales for the micro site — unveiled at last year’s International Wireless Communications Expo (IWCE) — “really took off” during 2011, particularly with the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, Lander said. While these entities are showing even more interest in the solution for their LMR systems this year, Pepro also is looking to branch out into other markets, she said.
“We’re hoping to really break out into cellular,” Lander said, noting that she believes Pepro products provide the hardened reliability that could make the solutions ideal for the proposed 700 MHz public-safety broadband network.
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