Delivering Communications Services in Harsh Environments

The Challenges of Harsh Environments 
Today’s network integrators are called upon to deliver voice, video and data communication services in harsh environments, including deserts, oil fields, mines, Antarctic-lab stations, ships, railroads, factories, airports, subways, stadiums and college dorms. These sites put unusual demands on communications equipment. The equipment must be designed to both operate in extreme temperatures and moisture, and endure dust, dirt, oil and/or corrosive chemicals, wind, rain, snow, and more, year after year.

Product Requirements 
These installations require products that are designed for operating temperatures ranging from -45° to 85° Celsius (-49° to 185° Fahrenheit). The units must be constructed for indoor or outdoor use, and sealed to protect against ingress of solid foreign objects, corrosion, and the ingress of water (including hose-directed water). The equipment must operate undamaged by the external formation of ice on the enclosure. 

The ideal solutions should be safely housed in NEMA4-compliant, environmentally-sealed and thermally-controlled enclosures. 

Commercial Solutions 
To address such challenges, Patton Electronics offers the EnviroNET brand of ruggedized, environmentally-hardened communications equipment for telecom, datacom, enterprise and industrial networks. The product line includes WAN Routers, VoIP Gateways, Ethernet Extenders, Device Servers and DSL modems, all designed specifically for the rigours of heavy industry, mobile and/or outdoor networking applications. 

EnviroNET equipment can deliver voice, video, and data communication services in Arctic cold (down to -45° C), desert heat (up to 85° C), wind, rain, snow, hail, high humidity, dust, dirt, corrosive chemicals, and worse. 

Safely housed in NEMA4-compliant, environmentally-sealed and thermally-controlled enclosures, EnviroNET equipment lets you deliver voice, video and data in the toughest of industrial, enterprise and telecom environments – indoors or outdoors. 

EnviroNet Equipment is ideally suited for – 
* Oil Wells & Refineries 
* Mines & Quarries 
* Ships and Seagoing Vessels 
* Railroad Environments 
* Stadiums and Arenas 
* Pay-Phone Stations 
* High-Traffic Areas 
* Schools, Campuses 
* Subways, Shopping Areas 
* You-Name-It 

EnviroNET solutions include POTS-over-Ethernet extension, T1/E1 extension, routed broadband-access, Voice-over-IP, xDSL, RS-232 device networking, and more.

(The author is Mr. Burton A. Patton, Executive Vice-President of Patton Electronics and Acting President of Patton India)