What's On Your Wish List? Oberon's Wi-Tile™ Delivers Security Without Compromise and Wins New Award

'Tis the season for making wish lists, right?

If you're managing a health care facility, there's no doubt that keeping patients and staff protected and safe will always be at the top of that list. And as we salute the frontline health care workers doing more than ever this year to keep us safe, it's also true that IT teams are paying close attention to special accommodations they can make to help ensure facility operations run smoothly. This includes the installation of Wi-Fi access points (APs) to ensure reliable connectivity and data security. But, when it comes to the deployment of these APs, there are quite a few challenges to overcome.

The "Bah Humbugs" of Deploying Access Points

• Poking holes through ceiling tiles to pass antennas or cables is not acceptable in hospitals, as these openings in the ceiling readily pass dust and spores that can increase the spread of airborne infectious disease. Lifting ceiling tiles to service above ceiling access points is restricted due to Infection Control Risk Assessment Procedures (ICRA), a U.S. safety protocol for health care facilities
• Once ceiling tiles are closed, adding or changing cabling could jeopardize infection control measures
• The wireless designer needs to consider how the AP will be blended into the environment in a manner that is aesthetically acceptable, without compromising performance
• HIPAA requires that hospitals limit physical access to electronic information systems, such as access points
• Many ceilings act as fire and smoke barriers, and penetrations in such ceilings are restricted
• With the rise of wireless medical devices such as infusion pumps, patient monitoring, and more, there is a growing need for stable wireless networks

Not to Worry; Good Tidings We Bring! The Award-Winning Wi-Tile^TM Locking Suspended Ceiling Tile

Understanding the need to integrate security, compliance and effective design into its portfolio, Oberon, a division of CPI, designed the Wi-Tile^TM collection, a set of Wi-Fi and small cell AP ceiling enclosures that provide security without compromising connectivity.

We're especially pleased to announce that the Wi-Tile was recently named the Data Centre Physical Security Innovation of the Year for its Wi-Tile enclosure solution from the UK-based Data Centre Solutions (DCS) Awards.

Here's the Proof in the (Plum) Pudding

• Wi-Tile was designed to replace a standard suspended ceiling tile, and features a full back-box that permits access to the AP without opening the plenum space, helping to protect vulnerable patients from airborne contaminants and simplifying compliance with ICRA procedures
• Oberon’s Wi-Tile line of products conceal the AP, antenna, and cabling behind a plastic dome (left) or recess the AP flush to the ceiling revealing only the “antenna face” of the access point
• Many of Oberon’s enclosures and mounts are lockable, ensuring the wireless infrastructure and associated cabling is secure and limiting physical access to the AP and associated data cable and connector to comply with HIPPA policy
• Oberon’s ceiling mounted products have a full steel back-box, which acts not only as a dust barrier, but also as a smoke and fire barrier. In these products, cable egress is through a firestop grommet, further enhancing effectiveness as a fire and smoke barrier.