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An Easier Way to Connect Your Remote Devices

In the consumer goods industry, wireless technologies have enjoyed unprecedented success due to the convenience they offer in connecting devices. Based on this success, applications using the same technologies are beginning to appear in various other settings as well, including in industrial environments. Wireless technologies offer a number of key benefits to businesses, including mobility, flexibility, wider coverage, and cost savings.

In a factory setting, for example, the benefits of using wireless technologies are numerous. The cost and time for cable installation and maintenance can be substantially reduced by using wireless solutions, making plant setup and reconfiguration easier. This is especially true for harsh environments where cables can be easily damaged by chemicals, vibration, or equipment in motion. Wireless solutions provide enhanced flexibility with device connections, and can help establish connections to stationary or mobile devices that would otherwise be impossible to connect. Plant machinery can be made much easier and simpler to access for diagnostic or programming purposes.

 

Top 5 Reasons to Go Wireless

  • Device mobility
  • Better flexibility, easier expansion or migration
  • Wide coverage
  • Ease of installation
  • Lower installation costs

Lower Total Cost of Ownership

Traditional wired connections suffer from a significant drawback: the cost and effort of cabling. As
distances increase, cabling costs can grow exponentially higher. Running long lengths of cable to
new or relocated equipment can delay or halt production.

For example, suppose your project requires automated data collection from a feeder terminal unit (FTU) located on a mountain one kilometer away. Communication with the FYI could be established with one of the following technologies: ADSL PSTN, fiber Ethernet, or wireless. You could do a side-by-side comparison between the three technologies to determine the most cost-effective approach.

Initial infrastructure costs
The following table shows an estimate of the initial infrastructure costs for the three possible solutions.

  Initial Costs Monthly Fees Maximum Bandwidth
ADSL PSTN ADSL operator $50 USD / month
$30 USD / month
8 Mbps (Download)
56 Kbps (Upload)
Fiber Ethernet Connection 1 km fiber
cable
Construction
costs
Licensing costs
None 100/1000 Mbps
Wireless Almost none Charged by packet sent, usually with basic monthly GSM: 9.6 Kbps
GPRS: 20 to 40 Kbps
EDGE: 80 to 160 Kbps
HSPA: 2 Mbps

Cellular and Fiber Optic solution cost comparison

The following table breaks down the communication costs over five years for both wired and wireless communication.
  Cellular Solution Fiber Optic Solution
Initial Costs None 1 km fiber cable:$2,000
Construction:$5,000
Communication Costs $44.99 x 12(Months) x 5 (Years) None
Total
$2,699
$7,000
 
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