Improving In-Building and Outdoor Cellular and Wi-Fi Coverage

What are Industrial and Carrier-Grade Distributed Antenna Systems?

When properly engineered and expertly installed, Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) ensure excellent cellular coverage and data capacity for smart phones and IoT devices. DAS solutions deliver a dedicated network of antennas that amplify cellular and Wi-Fi signals throughout a facility. Distributed Antenna Systems are highly scalable and can be designed to function in any indoor (iDAS) or outdoor (oDAS) space.

When the labels of Industrial-Grade or Carrier-Grade are applied to the term DAS it means that these systems are extremely advanced — capable of supporting levels of coverage and capacity that surpass basic or lower end DAS systems. Part of what makes a DAS system carrier-grade is the extensive on-site RF surveying and testing done before installation — ensuring that the system is engineered to operate at maximum effectiveness. The rest of what creates a carrier-grade DAS solution deals with the high-end and expertly installed equipment utilized in the system.

Wireless Service Providers such as AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile have spent billions in acquiring spectrum (signal frequencies) and even more on developing their cellular networks. They want to ensure that any third-party DAS network will not negatively impact their existing network.

When deploying a DAS, if it’s not properly engineered, it can negatively impact these carriers’ networks Therefore, a carrier-grade DAS is one that is built with the carrier’s laboratory-approved hardware, meets the exacting engineering specification, and goes through rigorous tests and data collection.

Design and Engineering

To design and build a carrier-grade DAS, carriers will expect you to follow certain processes and produce common deliverables.

Benchmark Data Collection

This tells carriers the current level of signal coverage inside the building. From the benchmark, data engineers will also determine coverage goals for each carrier by following their engineering requirements.

iBwave Design

iBwave has unofficially become an industry standard for the design and engineering of a DAS. Engineers have to enter all site-related information, and it will run link budget and propagation analysis to produce the following deliverables:

• Logical Diagram
• Floor Plan with Device Locations
• Bill of Materials
• Propagation Plots at desired frequencies
• Various other reports such as SINR, MAX Data Rate, EMF Reports

The first three documents are sometimes called construction-ready documents because you actually build the DAS by using the information and specifications these three documents.

Engineers will also produce other important documents like elevation drawings, connection line diagrams, etc., to help the low voltage vendors and equipment installers with their work.

Tests And Data Collection

DAS engineers run three types of tests that will be common for most carrier-grade DAS:

• Sweep and PIM (Passive Intermodulation) tests for coaxial cable
• OTDR and Optical Loss Tests for fiber optic cable, and
• CW (Continuous Wave) test on the completed system

Purpose of these tests are:

• Finding a fault or defect in the system
• Signal continuity at intended frequencies
• Reducing loss while the signal is traveling through the system
• Minimizing interference

During CW tests, engineers pass un-modulated (i.e., blank) signals through the system to make sure that the system is optimized for transmitting desired cellular signals. All of the approved equipment, rigorous design, engineering, testing, and optimization can easily raise the price of carrier-grade DAS.

When should I consider iDAS solutions for my buildings and facilities?

If your organization owns existing facilities, are expanding those facilities, or are constructing new facilities, and those facilities are meant to house hundreds of vendors, service thousands of customers, or host multiple businesses and their support staff, then a DAS solution may be something your organization needs.

Large structures made of steel, concrete, and Low-E glass tend to impede external cellular signals from propagating indoors — reducing the signal strength, coverage, and capacity levels of the cellular networks your stores, kiosks, and restaurants use to connect their wireless equipment (i.e. POS systems for customer transactions). Additionally, when thousands of customers are calling, texting, and live streaming about their experiences at your venue, they consume bandwidth — slowing internet speeds, impacting revenue generating activities, and reducing customer satisfaction.

A site survey is required to evaluate the state of your current in-building wireless coverage and capacity levels. After one is performed, expert technicians, like those employed by MCA, can advise as to the type of system your facility requires to achieve optimal coverage levels throughout your facilities.

What if my facilities are outdoors, when would I consider an oDAS Solution?

Cellular signals can be impeded by neighboring structures as well as your own structure. If line of sight to cellular towers is obstructed by facilities around your outdoor space, or if your outdoor spaces have weak signals due to their proximity to the nearest cellular towers (far away), you can boost the strength of cellular signals with oDAS solutions designed specifically for harsh outdoor environments in need of signal enhancement. These systems are especially useful for distributing Wi-Fi signals for private and public use across areas like parks, state fairgrounds, and other wide open spaces.

What types of DAS systems are there?

There are four types of DAS systems; Passive, Active, Hybrid, and Digital (all for outdoor and indoor use). They have different pros and cons, price points, and installation requirements. Each system utilizes various components to achieve the desired level of signal enhancement your facilities require including Donor (External) and Ceiling (Internal) Antennas, Bi-Directional Amplifiers (BDA), Small Cells, Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), Head End Units (HEU), Remote Radio Units (RRU), and more. Some companies market and sell BDA’s as a standalone solution, but generally, we do not.

Will a stand-alone BDA work?

BDA’s help pull in and enhance the strength of signals from outdoor to indoor environments and vice versa, but typically are much less effective when utilized individually with a single donor antenna. Many companies use the terms BDA and DAS as if they were interchangeable, but generally BDA’s are components within a larger DAS solution.

How can MCA help us with our cellular coverage enhancement needs?

Mobile Communications America is a Tier 1 National Integrator of Signal Boosting Carrier-Grade DAS Solutions. We provide services every step of the way — including consultation, site surveys, iBwave design, solution engineering, system testing, and on-site installation. And with our equipment service agreements you can hire us to perform ongoing system monitoring and maintenance to ensure your signal levels stay consistent and strong.

Our Six-Step Process | MCA Is With You Every Step Of The Way

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About MCA

MCA is one of the largest and most trusted DAS integrators in the United States, offering world-class voice, data, and security solutions that enhance the quality, safety, and productivity of customers, operations, and lives.

More than 65,000 customers trust MCA to provide carefully researched solutions for a safe, secure, and more efficient workplace. As your trusted advisor, we reduce the time and effort needed to research, install, and maintain the right solutions to make your workplace better.

Our team of certified professionals across the United States delivers a full suite of reliable technologies with a service-first approach. The MCA advantage is our extensive service portfolio to support the solution lifecycle from start to finish.