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November 30, 2022

What is RADIAFLEX?

As we finish celebrating 50 years of RADIAFLEX® evolution, it has been fantastic to reflect on the achievements and innovations we have delivered for this core solution. We have looked in detail at the successes of the technology, its evolution and its future. However for the final blog in our RADIAFLEX series we look at the nuts and bolts of the solution, giving a useful overview of the complete portfolio.

Axel Schroeder, Product Line Manager, In-Tunnel Solutions
TAGS : RADIATING CABLE, RADIAFLEX,

A very simple first question, what is RADIAFLEX®?

So, the best way to answer this is with the key highlights of the solution. RADIAFLEX is the original and world’s leading radiating cable solution. It is designed to provide contoured RF indoor coverage in a variety of environments from in-building to in-tunnel. It has always and continues to give our customers a practical means of delivering RF coverage in even the most challenging of confined spaces. It can support all major services up to 7GHz making it perfect for multi-operator and multi-band applications. Finally, it is also manufactured to meet the strictest global fire safety regulations as this becomes increasingly important to our customers. 

How has the product evolved since its initial launch in 1972?

The technology has evolved massively since its inception as wireless connectivity changed tremendously over the past five decades. Although some aspects have been constant, reliability, for example, has always been key aspect, notably for mission critical communication, other elements have changed significantly. 

Commercial wireless networks have transformed from pure 2G coverage-based solutions into today’s 5G capacity-driven requirements that serve end-users’ increasing demand for data and have an expectation of access when commuting in metros and trains globally. Consequently, new technological requirements apply to the design of radiating cables to follow 3GPP standardization in terms of supported spectrum but also to allow technological deployments such as MIMO to be leveraged. 

RFS RADIAFLEX cables continuously evolved technologically with innovative cable products and different cable families. It has allowed RFS to keep pace with both environmental and technological challenges, allowing customers to select the world’s leading radiating cable solutions, knowing they can be tailored to suit any kind of application.

What are some of the applications that RADIAFLEX is being used for?

By breaking down the types of RADIAFLEX available we get a certain amount of insight into its potential use cases and we explored some of the examples in detail in our recent RADIAFLEX Now blog. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular technologies for delivering coverage in Metro deployments, demonstrated by the fact that RADIAFLEX has been deployed in more than 50% of metro systems worldwide. In addition, it is being used to aid digital transformation in industries such as mining and utilities where access to connectivity is typically a challenge. Any environment or application where contoured coverage offers a benefit, there is a RADIAFLEX solution that can deliver. 

What does the future hold for RADIAFLEX?

As wireless standards continue to evolve and change, RFS will continue to ensure that all our technologies, including RADIAFLEX, keep pace and offer our customers the infrastructure backbone needed to support future use cases and deployments. We have some exciting projects in progress that will allow our customers to support a range of applications and we look forward to sharing them as they come to fruition. 

Need more information? Our new RADIAFLEX Selection Guide is coming soon. Be the first to get this must-have delivered right to your inbox: REQUEST A COPY