Case Studies

In the demanding mining industry, robust communication infrastructure is essential for operational efficiency and worker safety. A Greek mining operator, partnering with RFS since 2013, expanded its activities in 2021, requiring additional mission-critical cabling solutions to support its growing needs.

At RFS, we have been at the forefront of developing 5G-ready cable solutions. As we help customers around the globe realize their 5G ambition, we collaborated with COCUS to deploy a private 5G network across the RFS Hannover facility. The aim was to bring 5G connectivity to improve the operation of several functions across the site and gain a deep understanding of the end-to-end process of building a private 5G network.

When it comes to early adoption of new communication standards Hong Kong is without question one of the world leaders. 5G coverage is available for over 90% of the population with 6.9 million subscribers using 5G. Alongside mass commercial rollouts by the region’s main operators, infrastructure operators have invested significantly in delivering coverage in the hardest-to-reach areas.

Following a fire on Arqiva’s Bilsdale Transmitter site in August 2021, television and radio services across Northeast England were disrupted, with 670,000 households affected. The 300m mast was demolished and needed to be rebuilt. Arqiva needed to take action to provide a temporary solution to return coverage to those impacted while working in the longer term to get a new 300m permanent mast up and running.

TSMC is the world leader in semiconductor manufacturing and is one of the world’s 10 largest companies, with a market cap of $468 billion. To give an idea of scale, in 2022, TSMC served over 500 customers, manufacturing 12,698 products for multiple market sectors, including smartphones, Internet of Things (IoT), automotive, and digital consumer electronics. It is a huge player in the space with multiple manufacturing sites in Taiwan, China, US and Japan. TSMC needed a solution to deliver a highly secure network across all of its manufacturing and R&D facilities.

RFS Factory, Suzhou, China. As we continue to feel the impact of global warming and the need to tackle Net Zero targets more aggressively increases, at RFS, we are committed to investing in ways to reduce our carbon impact. As a leading designer and manufacturer, this spans developing greener products, minimizing the impact of our logistics, and improving the efficiency of our operations worldwide. This includes a major upgrade to our factory in Suzhou to significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuel energy.

One of the largest warehouses in the UK, spanning 400,000 m2, with around 1,000 employees, needed to upgrade its connectivity infrastructure to ensure it was able to deliver the true mission-critical coverage needed to keep the facility and its staff safe.

July 2021 saw widespread flooding in Europe, leaving a trail of destruction in Germany and neighboring countries, with the Ahr Valley feeling the worst of the effects. A consequence of the flooding was the destruction of homes, businesses, and key infrastructure. The floods impacted hundreds of cell sites, leaving hundreds of thousands in the region without connectivity which is more important than ever in the face of a crisis.

Japan Mobile Communications Infrastructure Association (JMCIA) is a telecoms consortium in Japan responsible for deploying wireless connectivity in a range of environments, including road tunnels, railway, and subway tunnels, across Japan. With the government in Japan aiming to deliver 5G to 95% of the Japanese population by March 2024, there are significant infrastructure projects ongoing to upgrade the country’s mobile infrastructure to meet this target.

5G may be a wireless technology, but fiber is a critical element of its infrastructure. To deliver the promises on speed and latency, 5G needs fiber and lots of it. In radio access networks, a typical cell site needs fiber connections for fronthaul, midhaul, and backhaul, and each comes with its own set of challenges. A tier one operator and OEM partner needed a solution that would deliver both a fronthaul fiber connection from the Baseband Unit (BBU) and a power connection to its Active Antenna Systems at Macro sites in Italy.

Hong Kong is one of the absolute world leaders when it comes to 5G coverage, with it already exceeding 90% of the population. The spectrum bands used for 5G mean operators now need to address a wide variety of frequencies, each with specific challenges that need to be overcome to ensure smooth and successful deployments.