In COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2018, FSP, a leading power-supply manufacturer in the world, will display its cutting-edge technologies for 5G, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and eSports applications, to showcase its multiple R&D and technological strengths in the power supply industry. With the advent of 5G wireless technology, advanced power supplies and systems have become increasingly important. Metaphorically speaking, a power supply system is like a heart that keeps the modern tech world alive and running, while wireless communications technology is like the brain’s neural network.

(Image Source: FSP)

Hardware a Major Challenge for 5G Era“ 

A 5G network is like a major highway platform," remarks Chen Zhe-Wen, the product manager of FSP’s Product and Marketing Strategy department. “In addition to acting as a platform for data transmission, it can pave the way for the materialization of numerous innovative applications in the future, such as AR/VR, driverless cars, IoT, and blockchains, all of which can impact our world,” he says.
The first challenge for the materialization of the 5G world is the installation of base stations.

Different from the centralized large-scale base stations for 3G and 4G, 5G networks consist of a multitude of micro base stations, which is necessary for 5G's transmissions in millimeter-wave bands. These base stations feature higher transmission frequencies, shorter transmission distances, and lower power consumption. They will be installed in high densities, and are expected to be inter-connected, which will create a distributed data architecture that increases data transmission efficiency while lowering the risk of data damage.

FSP 62368 Compliance CRPS，FSP1200-50FS

(Image Source: FSP)

The development of distributed power supply systems for micro base stations poses a major challenge for power supply firms. For that purpose, FSP has rolled out four products, namely power distribution unit (PDU) for conversion of three-phase power, remote radio unit (RRU) for wireless broadband equipment, base band unit (BBU) for power supply, and uninterruptible power system (UPS). These four products can all be connected and integrated for the creation of flexible and stable power supply systems. At the same time, the products can also be customized and adjusted to suit the needs of customers.

Unlike 3G and 4G base stations which are typically installed in sheltered environments, 5G micro base stations can be located in extreme weather, or dark, humid, and dusty corners, often without shelter. Therefore, 5G power supplies must be waterproof and dustproof, in addition to having high-temperature endurance. FSP's 5G power supplies can be applied outdoors and boast IP65-grade waterproof and dust proof ratings; the power supplies are capable of operating normally in temperatures ranging from -40˚C to 55˚C, making them suitable for installation in various environments.

As the 5G micro base stations are installed in high densities, their equipment should be relatively small and light. Thanks to the adoption of lithium batteries featuring high-density power instead of traditional lead-acid batteries, FSP's UPS is compact and light, which is suitable for installation on power-line poles or walls, meeting the needs of 5G networks. The company is currently collaborating with renowned major international firms in the development of 5G power supplies, to boost the overall quality of their solutions.

5G Will Facilitate the Advent of IoT

What 5G will bring about is by no means a merely “speedier" Internet access, as it will also facilitate the advent of the IoT era. "The development of IoT will be limited, until a complete 5G network has been put in place," remarked Cheng Yeou-hung, the senior manager of FSP's Retail Marketing Department. 5G's rapid high-frequency and low-delay transmissions are conducive to data transmission to cloud end in IoT. Meanwhile, in addition to data collection, various end points must also be able to “screen" effective data, which makes power supplies all the more important.

In addition to the development of IoT-based power supply products, including power-supply and energy-storage systems for end points and LED power supplies, FSP also offers PoE (power over Ethernet) power supplies which integrate Internet equipment and power supply for IoT devices, on top of smart management for energy-storage systems.

Chu Ting-Chuan, the senior product manager of FSP's Product and Marketing Strategy department, cited an example of the application of small smart UPS at convenience stores which are capable of storing their energy at low-power rate periods, and releasing their power at high-rate periods via centralized management systems; according to Chu, the use of such systems enable major power customers to not only save costs, but grasp power-consumption data in the long run for use in power rate negotiations. In addition, the power customers can choose to eventually transfer all of their unused power back to the power companies or overseas in the future, creating additional values.

In recent years, FSP has become an increasingly sought-after partner for many of the industry’s major IoT installation firms, as it has rolled out products capable of meeting 70% of the power needs of end market IoT equipment, in addition to helping customers avoid power-consumption peak periods via smart power management.

FSP 62368 Compliance Power Supply，FSP400-72PFL

(Image Source: FSP)

Blockchain Assures Data Security

To ensure data security, FSP has also begun the development of power supplies for blockchain platform and hardware for data verification recently, which are critical for the massive collected data under IoT. "In the future, everyone's end equipment will have strong computing capability and will be chained together for verifying massive data collected by IoT," noted Liang Hsin-Chu, the product manager of FSP's Product and Marketing Strategy Department.  

As a result of the bitcoin market’s continuously growing popularity, FSP has also begun to set its sights on bitcoin mining, rolling out 2000W industrial power supplies. The 2000W power supply is capable of meeting the massive power load for bitcoin mining operations, thanks to its durable high-voltage power, a major improvement over existing 1,000W ASIC power supply, which is prone to disruptions after about 80-90% of power usage. In addition to being compatible with both ASIC and GPU, the power supply developed by FSP will employ PMBus technology which enables display of computing load with lighting signals on the PC screen.

A Low-Cost Liquid-Cooled Power Supply for eSports

A potentially eye-catching exhibit that is set to appear at the FSP booth this year is the 850W power supply for eSports PCs, whose capacity can hit 1,000W, thanks to a liquid-cooled system. HYDRO PTM+ is an affordable model, with a price tag of only US$400, which is a far cry from the 1,200W model launched at last year’s COMPUTEX. With its lower price, FSP hopes to attract more people to its liquid-cooled power supply systems. A demonstration of the new systems will be held at COMPUTEX this year by various professionals from around the world.

With the world’s EN60950 safety standard set to be replaced next year by the new EN62368 standard, FSP has gradually begun to prepare updated power supply systems that conform to the latter format, in order to increase the number of options for manufacturers. Having started off as a manufacturer of power supplies, FSP has been consistently successful with its attempts to adapt to the industry’s different trends and technologies. As this year’s COMPUTEX will show, the company will be well poised to ride the upcoming tidal wave of 5G, IoT, blockchain, and eSports.

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