If it feels like you’re hearing a lot about fault managed power (FMP) these days, it’s not your imagination. FMP is a burgeoning technology in the information and communications technology industry, holding great promise to provide enterprise users with flexibility designing and implementing properties’ power and data infrastructure.
Here are the FMP-related products and systems that took home honors in this year’s Cabling Innovators Awards.
Belden’s FMPS Cables
Belden’s Fault-Managed Power System (FMPS) Cables are designed and UL-certified for Class 4 circuits to safely send high amounts of power over long distances, allowing IoT devices to be placed in locations that support top performance, regardless of local power source availability.
Belden introduced the industry’s first UL-certified Class 4 cable and has now added the industry’s first UL-certified Class 4 hybrid cable to its portfolio as well. The copper/fiber construction of Belden’s FMPS Hybrid Cables transmits power and data over long distances in a single cable run, saving installation time, reducing installation complexity and simplifying cable stock.
With the release of the 2023 National Electrical Code® (NEC), Class 4 circuits allow the industry to support power delivery with the equivalent safety of existing Class 2 circuits and the added advantage of higher power levels and across longer distances.
Because Class 4 systems are just as safe as—if not safer than—Class 2 and Class 3 systems, these cables can be installed by the same integrators and contractors that install Category cabling and PoE cabling.
Constellation from CommScope
CommScope’s Constellation edge-based network platform helps facility and network managers create a more efficient, capable and adaptable power/data infrastructure for tomorrow’s device-dense, edge-based networks. Streamlined and modular, it dramatically simplifies the time, cost and complexity needed to deliver reliable power and data.
Constellation combines Class 4 power (fault managed power), enhanced powered fiber and ceiling-based convergence points (CPs) in an easy to deploy star topology that reduces the need for skilled labor. Supporting converged and segmented networks, AC and DC applications and a variety of connectivity options, the platform enables customers to easily evolve as their technologies and needs change. By reducing the amount of equipment, copper and energy requirements, Constellation is also more responsible and sustainable long-term solution.
The Panduit Fault Managed Power System
The Panduit Fault Managed Power System is a remote power delivery system that allows systems integrators to provide power to wireless systems. It can remotely power electrical devices such as remote radios, small cells, security cameras, access-control systems, and indoor as well as outdoor distributed antenna systems (DAS). Panduit says its fault managed power system “is ideal for larger venues or complex installations that require centralized power management, and is designed to comply with UL 1400 standards for a safer, easy-to-install power delivery system that provides significant time and cost savings to the user.”
Alongside standard communications cabling, the Panduit Fault Managed Power System can provide remote power over standard multi-conductor cables without conduit or the need for separation; this capability simplifies equipment installation, increases deployment speed, and significantly reduces deployment costs. “The system is scalable, with a hot-swappable configuration, allowing it to grow with rising wireless demands,” Panduit adds, describing the system as “a safe, efficient, reliable, and practical remote power delivery system that will go the distance.”
The system’s patented technology transports power through a pulse current waveform. The Panduit Fault Managed Power System comprises two main components: the power source and the power converter.
VoltServer case study with Remee’s PowerPipe
Remee Wire & Cable, Mobilitie and VoltServer provided a Digital Electricity™ (DE) solution for a large municipal transportation agency. VoltServer, the developer of DE technology, provided its equipment to power the DAS radios for the metropolitan rail system to Mobilitie, the 3rd party operator and owner of the system infrastructure, who also installed the equipment. Remee Wire & Cable was selected by Mobilitie to provide its PowerPipe™ cabling solution for this installation, which was designed and approved for use with VoltServer’s DE equipment.
The control equipment for the rail system needed the capability to carry thousands of watts of power over thousands of feet to power the radios installed throughout the system. The installation would involve the transmission of data and power from equipment stations throughout the tunnels of these transit systems.
VoltServer’s patented Digital Electricity™ system was selected by Mobilitie for this project. VoltServer invented DE, a patented methodology, for the safe transmission of power up to 2km. This innovative technology offers the power and distance capabilities of traditional AC distribution but with the safety characteristics inherent with low voltage power distribution. It delivers significantly more power and at greater distances than PoE or Class 2 infrastructure while using the same low-voltage wiring practices and pathways. It was the perfect solution for powering the DAS radios throughout the tunnel system.
Mobilitie was chosen as a third-party operator to install, own and operate the DAS and fiber infrastructure needed. With its experience working in tunnels, such as with Seattle Sound Transit, Mobilitie was the ideal organization for this transit project.
Remee Wire & Cable, as an approved cable manufacturer for use with VoltServer’s DE system, was one of the available supplier options to provide cabling for the rail project. Remee was chosen by Mobilitie because of the company’s ability to meet NFPA 130 requirements for jacketing in a tunnel environment. Remee had already been working on similar NFPA 130 cabling solutions for its customers and had the expertise and capability to provide the same certification for this project. Remee was selected to provide its PowerPipe™ cable for the DE applications, running cable from the various stations to remote locations along the tunnels. Not only was Remee able to meet Mobilitie’s critical timelines, but they went above and beyond typical requirements for a project like this.