Very few people out there are denying that changes to the climate are happening. Mostly, climate change deniers argue about the cause but not the changes themselves. We see hot summer weather getting progressively warmer and the winters getting colder. We are seeing storms that have far more intensity in the past, and as a result, we are seeing far more damage from wind, rain, and lightning due to these storms. Keeping equipment that businesses need to place in the field safe is of paramount necessity because, in many cases, this is not a simple convenience. There are many industries, such as telecom, that become a lifeline when disaster strikes. Because of this, it is not only good business to protect the equipment in the field, but a necessity since it can help save lives in many cases.
Telecom operators need to place installations around people to allow their phones to connect to the network. In the previous generation, slower-speed networks allowed for more distance between the phone and the nodes and still supplied an adequate connection. The faster the network speed, the closer your phone needs to be to that installation to make it work appropriately. This proximity to the user means that network providers have had to invest millions of dollars into the rollout of 5G nationwide to provide faster speeds to nearly everyone subscribing to their network. For this equipment to ultimately pay for itself, it must remain online and function for a specific period, even when the changing climate makes these predictions difficult. The shrouding that surrounds and protects this equipment is designed and built to withstand the majority of events currently impacting the environment around it. It must also be made to withstand future changes. The enclosure and internal cooling or heating are designed to operate in ambient temperatures of a specific amount. Still, it will often need to perform should those temperatures increase by 30 degrees. Will the equipment inside fail due to the outside temperatures overwhelming the cooling systems? If lightning strikes near the enclosure, is adequate surge protection in place to divert the subsequent surging electricity away from the sensitive equipment so that it doesn’t impact and damage it? And, if that surge protection system is in place, will it remain functional if another strike happens before technicians can check or replace it? These scenarios are critical to consider when installing telecom field equipment and the cabinets that keep it safe. The world is not going to stop changing, and we need to plan for the worst if we are to conserve the critical budgets that keep our businesses alive.
