Why does hazardous area wireless require a different approach? 

In hazardous areas, defined by areas where the potential for an explosion is always present or under fault conditions, wireless must be engineered to specific standards. Over time, this has driven a move away from standalone implementations toward adaptable, future-ready connectivity platforms designed for long-term safety, reliability, and innovation.  

We cover this in more detail in our  Hazardous Area Wireless Buyers Guide 2026.

Introduction 

Wireless in hazardous areas has always come with a different set of expectations. It must: 

• Operate safely within explosive atmospheres, with RF (Radio Frequency) limits, heat rise, and fault conditions engineered to meet Ex requirements.  

• Remain compliant throughout its service life covering: 

• • Product certification and equipment protection concepts 

• • Installation and commissioning in Ex-classified environments 

• • Inspection, maintenance, and change management over time 

• Continue performing reliably long after installation, despite:  

• • Restricted access  

• • Exposure to varying temperatures, vibration, highly corrosive atmospheres, and weather, etc. 

• • Dense metallic structures that challenge RF performance 

As described in our Hazardous Areas Wireless Buyers Guide 2026, these requirements support an infrastructure-led approach to hazardous area wireless, helping deliver reliable connectivity for both permanent installations and  temporary ones.  

Click here to learn more about defining hazardous area wireless. 

At Extronics, BARTEC’s IoT and Connectivity brand, we design hazardous area wireless  shaped by what we see on site. Over time, this experience has enabled continued innovation; helping customers: 

• Deploy wireless across larger areas 

• Reduce on-site infrastructure 

• Support new digital use cases without compromising safety or compliance 

Why evolution in hazardous area wireless looks different 

In most industrial environment wireless evolves quickly as it’s driven by new standards and performance targets. In hazardous areas, the priority is different: solutions must be proven safe, compliant, and reliable before they are deployed as changes after installation are costly and often difficult to implement. This means technology can often lag behind the safe area innovations.  

Giving customers freedom to choose and evolve 

This is where our vendor-agnostic approach plays a central role. By decoupling hazardous area compliance and wireless design from the technology itself, we enable customers to build flexibility into their infrastructure from the outset. 

For customers, this delivers clear, practical benefits: 

• The ability to use the same wireless technologies in both safe and hazardous areas, supporting common industrial standards such as:

• Wi-Fi 

• Bluetooth 

• LoRaWAN 

• private LTE/5G/4G 

• IoT gateways 

• UHF RFID 

simplifying network design, configuration, and ongoing support. One solution designed to support any wireless devices from any vendor.  

Click here to further explore the typical wireless technology used in hazardous areas. 

• Freedom to choose wireless vendors and technologies  

• Faster adoption of new and emerging wireless technologies 

• Reduced re-engineering and infrastructure replacement over time 

• Lower long-term cost and operational risk 

How hazardous area wireless requirements have evolved 

As digitalization gathered pace across industrial sites, the role of hazardous area wireless began to change. Early deployments were often limited to enabling connectivity for a single task. Over time, wireless became the backbone for collecting, moving, and acting on operational data. 

Use cases expanded beyond simple connectivity to support site safety, asset visibility, and operational insight. Wireless networks began carrying data from personnel tracking systems, asset monitoring, condition monitoring, mobile worker applications, and many more systems, often in real time. 

As these data-driven use cases evolved, expectations of wireless infrastructure changed with them: 

• Move from reactive to proactive operations, by making data available when it is needed, not after the event 

• Infrastructure had to be scaled as new data sources and applications were introduced 

• Networks were expected to enable insight and decision-making, not just connectivity 

• Reliability became directly linked to site safety and productivity outcomes 

As outlined in the Hazardous Areas Wireless Buyers Guide 2026, this shift marks a broader change in how hazardous area wireless is viewed. Wireless is no longer a supporting technology added at the edge of the site, but a core digital foundation. It underpins how data is accessed, trusted, and used across hazardous areas.  

Building a stronger RF foundation 

Wireless signals are hard to manage in hazardous areas. As outlined in the Hazardous Areas Wireless Buyers Guide 2026, dense metallic structures such as pipework, vessels, walkways, and steel frames can interfere or reflect radio signals, making coverage unpredictable if it is not designed properly. 

Antenna selection, placement, and certification are critical to achieving consistent performance in these environments. While wireless radios continue to advance, reliable coverage in these environments depends on how signals are introduced into, and distributed around, the process area. 

The iANT antenna range has continually evolved to match the technology advances seen across industry. Providing the most up to date technology options, including 5G, LoRaWAN and Wi-Fi6eSupporting straightforward, compliant installation in hazardous areas 

• Remaining compatible as wireless technologies and standards evolve 

Click here to explore best practices for deploying antennas in hazardous areas. 

Extending proven enclosure engineering to enable solar innovation 

From the start, our wireless enclosures have been designed for hazardous environments. The focus has always been on the factors that matter most on site, including: 

•  Suitable materials selection 

•  Environmental protection built into design 

•  Managing heat to maximize performance 

 As higher demand for wireless networks in outdoors and more remote parts of the site, access to power became a key consideration. In some locations, running fixed power is difficult, expensive, or simply not practical. Customers needed wireless solutions that could operate reliably without a permanent power supply, while still meeting hazardous area requirements. 

The Solar iWAPXN3 enclosure is the next step in this progression. It builds on designs that are already proven in the field and adapts them for tougher outdoor conditions. It’s designed to: 

• Cope with high ambient temperatures and direct sunlight 

• Manage heat effectively in outdoor installations 

• Provide a safe, compliant way to use solar power 

As a result, solar-powered wireless can be deployed as a fully engineered hazardous area solution. This makes it easier to deploy wireless in locations where power is limited, without increasing risk or maintenance effort. 

Click here to learn more about environmental challenges in hazardous area deployments. 

How these developments shape our roadmap 

Our roadmap is guided by what customers need to do on-site and how technology is changing to support the use cases seen across industry.  

Every development is aimed at making hazardous area wireless quick to deploy, easier to maintain, and flexible to evolve over time. 

Wireless Connectivity innovation in hazardous areas does not happen through sudden leaps. It happens step by step, by building on what is already proven to work and applying practical engineering to real site challenges. 

At Extronics, this practical, experience-led approach is what allows us to turn the constraints of hazardous environments into dependable, future-ready wireless infrastructure; designed to last and designed to evolve. 

Learn more 

Many of the principles discussed in this article are explored in more detail in the Hazardous Areas Wireless Buyers Guide 2026. The guide provides practical guidance on specifying, deploying, and maintaining wireless infrastructure in hazardous environments, covering topics such as: 

• Certification & Protection concepts  

• Enclosure design 

• RF performance 

• Environmental challenges 

• Long-term lifecycle considerations 

If you are planning new wireless deployments or reviewing existing infrastructure, the Buyers Guide is designed to help you make informed decisions with confidence. 

Read Now: Hazardous Areas Wireless Buyers Guide 2026 

About the Author

JE

James Eastwood

Product Manager

James brings experience from engineering and sales into his role as a product manager. His mix of technical understanding and commercial perspective supports the strategic development of our market-leading products.

Last updated on February 11, 2026

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