Clear-Com ensures communications during China’s first in-person economic and trade event since the Covid-19 outbreak

The seventh annual China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) is the first major international economic and trade event held both virtually and in-person by China since the COVID-19 outbreak. Hosted in Beijing in early September, a total of 18,000 enterprises and institutions from 148 countries and regions and about 100,000 people registered for the fair. The combination of a virtual and a physical audience, as well as the presence of well-respected Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, required a solid communications system. Beijing-based PDQ (磐德泉文化发展有限公司), was tasked with designing the system for CIFTIS’ broadcast and live production communication solutions, selecting Clear-Com®’s HelixNet® Digital Network and FreeSpeak II® Digital Wireless Intercom as the foundation.

 “They told us 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,” he continued, “so it was very important to us that everything went smoothly.”

There were two primary uses for the comms system, the first of which was for the worldwide broadcast of the Summit Ceremony on the evening of September 4th. Many government officials were invited to attend the Summit, which would take place onsite, at the National Convention Center. The production team and the operations team relied on 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,” the Project Lead commented. “It’s a big stress relief for the technical teams when the comms system disappears, and they just feel like they’re conversing with one another.”

The second application of Clear-Com gear was in what the Fair used as their media room, located in the Asia Financial Center about 1.2 km from the convention center. 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 the communication between these zones 24 hours a day for the duration of the show, from September 4th to September 9th without any major problems or interruptions,” the Project Lead explained. “That’s really exciting for us!”