Irish IoT antenna firm Taoglas has launched its Thunder series of outdoor antenna enclosures engineered to support direct integration and installation of industrial routers within the antenna package.

Designed for demanding outdoor environments, the series helps engineers optimise installations, reduce signal loss and lower deployment costs.

Purpose-built for widely deployed routers from Digi, Ericsson and Semtech, the Thunder series combines Taoglas’ wideband antenna technology with a rugged enclosure that allows the router to be installed directly inside the housing. This reduces the need for long RF cables – cutting tens of metres per deployment – while lowering signal loss, installation time, and the material and labour costs typically associated with separate device installations.

Operating across a 600 to 6000MHz frequency range, the series supports 5G, 4G, wifi, GNSS and Bluetooth. This coverage enables support for low-band cellular, mid-band 5G, and Wifi 6 and 6E frequencies. It is said to provide best-in-class communication by locating the router and the antenna in the same enclosure to cut cable loss and reduce installation costs while simplifying implementation and deployment.

This ensures long-range performance and reliable high- or low-speed data connectivity. The addition of the power over Ethernet (PoE) splitter makes powering the router less complicated.

The Thunder series (www.taoglas.com/products/thunder-series) is available in directional and omnidirectional versions, with IP67-rated ABS enclosures protecting against water ingress, dust and vibration. This makes it suitable for harsh outdoor conditions and mission-critical deployments across transportation, mining, agriculture, smart cities and industrial automation. In one such application, Thunder is being deployed in number-plate recognition systems, powered directly from streetlight DC infrastructure, reducing cabling requirements and enabling discreet, efficient installation in urban environments.

“Installing multiple antennas and routers separately in the field can be time-consuming, expensive and prone to performance degradation due to cable loss,” said Chris Friend, vice president at Taoglas. “With Thunder, we’re giving engineers a more integrated, reliable and cost-effective way to deploy high-speed connectivity using the routers they already trust.”

To support flexible deployment, the Thunder can be powered in several ways depending on the router in use. These include dedicated power inputs or PoE, with Taoglas providing detailed guidance to ensure safe, standards-compliant installation.

Taoglas (www.taoglas.com) is a provider of antennas, IoT components and custom IoT design services that help users navigate complex RF and wireless systems and bring connectivity to market on time, the first time. Since its foundation in 2004, the company has grown from its heritage in antennas to having engineering resources, test chambers and pre-certification centres around the world.