Going Beyond Boundaries: Plenum Cables You Can Install Outdoors
The demand for top-notch fan experiences is creating design and construction complexity in stadium and venue environments. As this intensity increases, so does the opportunity for delays, cost overruns and installation errors.
As designs become more multifaceted, many types of products and technologies are involved. The consultants and installers we work closely with told us they noticed a pattern: Pre-planning was becoming more challenging.
In other words, it’s difficult to remember to plan for everything that will be needed for every application (for example: making sure indoor-rated cables are onsite for installation inside the stadium, while outdoor-rated cables are available to use outside).
Simplifying cable complexity can:
- Support easier expansion and modification
- Reduce the opportunity for error and downtime
- Help companies quickly adapt to new tech, organizational changes and reconfigurations
- Make processes clearer and more efficient
From Many Cables to One Cable
As stadium construction and upgrades accelerate across the country and around the world, project teams need to optimize productivity—which can be done by simplifying cable complexity.
Traditionally, in indoor/outdoor venues (think soccer or football, for example), different cables are needed to suit each application:
- Indoor CMR cables: Riser Ethernet cables that can be installed in risers or vertical shafts (elevator shafts, vertical conduit, etc.)
- Indoor CMP cables: Plenum cables are designed to install inside a building's plenum spaces (raised floors, air ducts, dropped ceilings, etc.)
- OSP cables: Cables that can withstand immersion in water and can be paired with an indoor flame rating for dual-purpose installation.
- CMX cables: Cables that meet the minimum requirements to withstand the elements, including sunlight and water resistance. These cables are always paired with an indoor flame rating.
When cable installation transitions from outdoors to indoors—from a broadcast truck to a camera, for example—installers typically have to stop, place a connector on the end of the outdoor cable and connect it to the back of a patch panel.
On the front side, an indoor cable must enter the patch panel using another connector before it can be run to its destination.
This splice point creates complexity—something owners and installers no longer want to juggle if they don’t have to. Instead, they told us they wanted a single cable that could be installed anywhere: outdoors (waterproof, UV resistant and corrosion resistant) and indoors without demarcation.
This would also not only make installation faster, but also support easier material specification.
Simplify Stadium Design and Installation
Belden's Indoor/Outdoor (I/O) Stadium Broadcast Cables allow you to run a single cable between indoor and outdoor environments. Based on customer feedback, we recently added I/O CMP cables (plenum cables) to this offering—which is just another example of how we respond when the industry tells us they need something new or different.
Now installers can use the same cable from the broadcast truck to the camera—or between any other combination of indoor and outdoor components that need to connect. No one has to keep track of which cable should be used in which spot.
This is the definition of simplicity: A cable that’s not only easier to install, but also faster to specify and manage. Cables are available in plenum and riser versions. No new tools or connectors are required—you can use the Belden tools and connectors you already use.
With this addition to our portfolio, stadiums and venues can count on Belden for all their communications infrastructure needs, whether they involve IT, OT or broadcast requirements.
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About the Author
Josh Goyke graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in sales/sales management. In 2017, he joined Belden and now oversees all Copper Cable product lines for the company’s Smart Building Solutions platform. Josh focuses on product life cycle management ensuring we deliver reliable, streamlined, and accessible solutions designed meet the evolving needs of the enterprise market.