Clear-Com handles communications during Chinese trade fair

The seventh annual China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), one of the first international economic and trade events to be held in the country since the Covid-19 outbreak, has taken place in Beijing, attracting 18,000 enterprises and institutions and around 100,000 registered visitors. The combination of a virtual and a physical audience, as well as the presence of Chinese leaders including President Xi Jinping, required a seamless and reliable communications system. Beijing-based PDQ was tasked with designing a broadcast and live production communication solution, selecting Clear-Com’s HelixNet digital network and FreeSpeak II digital wireless intercom as the foundation.

Founded in 2009, PDQ has mainly focused on event planning, stage design and equipment rental. In 2018 the company began adopting Clear-Com products and developed a team dedicated to building customised intercom solutions. 2020 marks the first year as a direct partner with the organisers of CIFTIS.

“They needed reliable, safe and quality communications and stressed the system must be deployed easily and quickly for all involved groups, so we immediately suggested Clear-Com,” said PQD’s project leader. “The president would be delivering remarks so it was very important to us that everything went smoothly.”

The comms system was primarily used for the worldwide broadcast of the Summit Ceremony to which a delegation of government officials were invited, taking place onsite at the National Convention Center. The production and operations teams deployed FreeSpeak II operating in the 2.4 GHz band to communicate and execute their tasks. “Many workers who used the system commented on how efficient and seamless it was,” continued the project leader.

The second application was in the media room, located in the Asia Financial Center about 1.2 km from the convention centre. Here, FreeSpeak II and HelixNet were deployed to connect multiple zones of communication including the main control room, operation monitor room, satellite vans, public signal and recording room, studio room, media zone and more. “HelixNet and FreeSpeak II ensured communication between these zones 24 hours a day for the duration of the show, without any major problems or interruptions,” the project leader explained.

Safety precautions at the fair included temperature checks using thermal infrared temperature technology, the use of masks at all times, and limited traffic to ensure social distancing. Equipment was disinfected using ultraviolet light after each use, all public areas were disinfected every two hours and the entire convention centre was disinfected at the close of each day.