Reception Killer Quesque C’est?

It seems illogical that in 2021 getting good cell reception is still an issue, even in state-of-the-art supertalls in New York City. But the reality is, five bars are never a given. Several factors adversely affect the ability of a cellular network to reach subscribers inside a building. Today’s sustainable construction materials improve structural integrity and energy efficiency but wreak havoc on the ability to propagate wireless service. Low “e” glass, thick concrete walls, and steel construction can restrict wireless signals from penetrating a building. Signals often can’t reach the higher floors of extremely tall buildings, as the surrounding cell towers are lower than the upper floors. The good news is, there is a way to counteract these reception killers; cellular enhancement using a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

A distributed antenna system, also known as an in-building wireless system, is cutting-edge technology that provides robust, dependable cellular service throughout a building. Each design is unique and custom-tailored to the building in which it lives. The DAS signal source receives cellular signals from the wireless service providers. Using wall and ceiling mounted antennas distributed throughout the building, the signal is amplified and disbursed throughout the structure. 

As a wireless system integrator, we perform benchmark surveys of the physical site to determine existing signal strength and propose the best possible solutions. Once it’s determined that a DAS is required, we use the building’s CAD files to create a custom design using iBwave®, the industry standard for inbuilding wireless communications. Accommodations are made for the building’s other radio systems, like public safety, to account for the coexistence with additional frequency transmissions. We also coordinate activities during the DAS implementation between the carriers, property owner, and installation team. Our Project Managers are well versed in the NFPA, IFC, electrical, and building codes required for in-building systems for cellular enhancement and public safety. They join a project at its inception and play an integral role over the project’s lifespan. A building’s lifecycle is long and justifies careful and informed design when it comes to communications. There are many reasons you can have poor cell service in a building, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. 

2020 Foresight

I want to think that when we started our company in 2016, we were anticipating events like a global pandemic because that would make us an incredibly visionary group of people. However, it wasn’t the fear of contracting a virus that motivated us to create an entirely mobile company. It had more to do with the fact that we anticipated that our employees would need to be mobile and able to communicate with clients and colleagues from our multiple offices. As a team of engineers, we are always looking for creative solutions, especially when it comes to technology. The tools that we put in place to make work an activity, not a location, allowed for a seamless transition when construction halted in New York, and we no longer worked out of our office spaces. 

For example, we have always held our Monday morning meetings via Zoom, bringing staff together, no matter where they were physically located. When we all started working from home in mid-March, that weekly meeting became a vital tool for collaboration for pre and post-sales tracking and project management. Again, other web-based applications like Mondayand BuilderTrend are the source of our discussions.  Our talented engineering team uses iBwave daily.  Remote access to this tool enables them to create accurate designs of indoor wireless networks. MS Office 365’s online productivity tools, including SharePoint  allow for easy file sharing and storage. Microsoft’s Teams has become our company’s go-to method of communication, and everyone in our firm keeps it open on their desktop at all times. In many ways, this “always-on” access has improved our communication and response time. All of our cloud and web-based apps are accessible from our phones and tablets as well. We recently built a mobile app in Microsoft’s PowerApps to give our engineers and project managers access to vital project information while visiting construction sites. 

We’ve found that our employees can be just as productive or even more so when working from home. The foresight we had in 2016 has made our firm nimble, accessible to our clients, vendors, and one another, and helps with efficiency and improved response time. The one thing these systems can’t do is replace the banter I enjoyed over lunch with my colleagues. I look forward to sharing meals with them in the not so distant future.