The elevators in China’s tallest building will support complete wireless communications all the way to the top of the skyscraper because of a high-performance, in-building coverage solution enabled by Radio Frequency Systems (RFS), the global wireless and broadcast infrastructure specialist.
Currently under construction, the Shanghai Tower is located in the financial district of Pudong, one of the most dynamic areas in Shanghai. Once completed, the new complex, will offer 380,000 square meters of space to accommodate the head offices and activities of hundreds of companies. The tower will be the tallest building in China and the second-tallest in the world, surpassed only by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Built on RFS market-leading RADIAFLEX® cables, the communications network in the elevator tunnel has been designed to eliminate any potential gaps in communications coverage. It will allow anyone in the 632-meter Shanghai Tower to maintain connections with family, friends and colleagues while traveling to any floor in the building.
“Studies show that more than 80 percent of wireless voice and data communications begin indoors,” said Golden Nie, Wireless Indoor Product Group Director of RFS Asia. “So in this type of skyscraper, it is very important for users, most of them professionals, to be able to continue to have the benefit of communication services during the relatively long trips they will take in the building’s elevators. The network is a key part of the building, and includes RFS cables, plus the related accessories and connectors.”
RFS RADIAFLEX radiating cable is the world’s leading “leaky feeder” cable solution. It is designed to deliver contoured indoor RF coverage with radio signals leaked from the apertures on the radiating cable’s outer conductor. This allows network operators to provide scalable and practical broadband wireless services for confined areas, such as tunnels, mines and large building complexes.
RADIAFLEX cables feature the patented RFS higher order mode suppression technique in radiating cable design. This unique design allows RFS to offer cables that support current and future indoor commercial and private radio services from 30 MHz to 2700 MHz — including LTE — for valuable cost savings. And the broadband feature enables cables to work on different bands in one single coverage system, thereby supporting multiple carriers and multiple standards.
RADIAFLEX cables are also engineered to provide low smoke and high flame and fire retardant performance, which makes them ideal for in-building wireless applications. This was a key consideration in the selection of the cabling solution for the Shanghai Tower elevator tunnel communications network.
“Once completed, the network in the elevator tunnel enabled by these RFS solutions will support the communications services of all three major operators in China,” said Golden Nie. “It will provide a low total cost of ownership network that will ensure all users to continue to receive the benefit of high-quality, uninterrupted and highly reliable commercial wireless broadband access when they step into one of the tower’s elevators.”