Concealing 5G small-cell sites in your city

Deployment of 5G services is proving more challenging than it was for prior wireless generations. To provide continuous coverage for fixed wireless access (FWA) and mobile applications, 5G small cell sites must be lower to the ground and significantly closer to one another than previous wireless sites that were mounted high up on macro towers. In fact, the 5G wireless infrastructure will comprise six to twelve times more cell sites than earlier generations, deployed on nearly every city block.

Service providers will need to focus deployment where there is the most need for densification—in the busiest streets, plazas, neighborhoods and business centers. That means small cell sites will be mounted on or within existing street furniture, impacting urban aesthetics and utility operations, and complicating installation. A municipality may have a great variety of infrastructure – a large city can have dozens of types of streetlight poles, both wood and metal. One small cell site design will not fit all.

The New York City metro area is soon to deploy a portfolio of 5G small cell solutions. By strategically using concealment technology, NYC and other municipalities can meet 5G coverage requirements while maintaining an attractive and safe streetscape.

Cities can rely on 5G concealment to make small cell sites blend in with existing architecture and structures, and thereby reduce the concerns some citizens may have about the aesthetics of 5G radio equipment. Today, there are materials that can cover 5G radios and antennas with very little or no impact on performance. Raycap worked with the New York City metro area, and the New York City Department of IT and Telecommunications (NY DoITT), on small cell solutions that use InvisiWave®, a unique patent-pending concealment material that works with 5G mmWave bandwidth and gigabit speeds, with very minimal signal loss.

InvisiWave technology works today in pole toppers, surrounds and radomes on integrated pole configurations, as well as in panels on chimneys, cupolas, screen walls, and other rooftop concealments. Its smooth, surface can be painted to city specifications, and has the necessary durability to stand up to environmental extremes.

To read the complete article, visit American City & County.