The design, construction, and layout of buildings can be the enemy of wireless technology. Owners and developers require high-rise offices, hospitals, hotels, malls, and other commercial real-estate structures to have ample room and be aesthetically pleasing, energy efficient, and comfortable for all who visit or work within them. Ironically, those same features often are responsible for poor wireless coverage.

Obviously, the demand for wireless is not a passing trend. Mobile communications usage has escalated both indoors and outdoors. This widespread use of wireless devices reaching through every strata of society has made “universal coverage” -- as in comprehensive coverage everywhere, all the time -- a necessity. As the demand for wireless capacity increases, in-building wireless systems become absolutely critical, and are now seen as a building utility, right alongside water and electricity.

Without ubiquitous wireless coverage, corporations lose productivity, hotels experience higher vacancy numbers, hospitals reduce the quality of care, and students miss out on opportunities to learn in new, more effective ways. Actively pursuing universal coverage is the beginning of a future that holds endless possibilities enabled by reliable wireless connectivity. However, it’s become clear that relying on the traditional wide area network (WAN) that enables mobile communication outdoors to deliver reliable wireless coverage inside large structures is not a feasible plan. Instead, building owners and developers are looking for cost-effective, high-performance, and long-term solutions for equipping existing structures and new constructions with in-building wireless systems that will ensure occupants can maintain their wireless coverage demands well into the future.

Why Go Wireless
An in-building wireless system’s cabling provides the physical infrastructure on which all wireless technology will function. A carrier-neutral, in-building wireless solution that contains both active and passive infrastructure is the most efficient way to improve indoor wireless coverage and ensure that buildings’ occupants experience exceptional mobile services all the time. Engineered with the future needs of wireless operators and public safety communications requirements in mind, the indoor antennas, coaxial cables, connectors, and cable management apparatus that make up this structured cabling solution work together to homogeneously flood a building with wireless signals and deflect interference from the macro network outdoors as well as competing signal frequencies inside. Instead of waiting for capacity and coverage issues to present themselves at the most inconvenient and costly time, building owners and developers can choose to safeguard their investment and provide the infrastructure necessary to solve the wireless problems of tomorrow, today.

Radio frequency (RF) signals originate from a base station, located either locally or remote. The base station takes bits of data and converts them to RF signals so they can be transmitted over the air (OTA) to mobile devices. When the base station is located off-site, a repeater picks up RF signals and amplifies them. Both the local base station and repeaters use a system of cables, antennas, and assorted other equipment to form a distributed antenna system (DAS) which efficiently moves RF signals throughout a building creating a reliable, high-quality communications network. With a carrier-neutral system, distributed RF signals are not exclusive to any specific wireless operator thus ensuring all building occupants experience superior wireless coverage regardless of their individual mobile device or service provider.

An in-building wireless system is fast becoming a requirement for all structures. While the wireless needs of one building may differ from the next, current and future applications will rely on mobility to perform their tasks, regardless of industry. In fact, wireless capabilities already play a large role in most organizations.

In the health care industry, for example, most medical images and data are transmitted wirelessly over local-area Wi-Fi networks (LANs) for internal use by medical professionals. As the industry races toward realizing the idea of an information-based, constantly-connected health care system, delivery of medical information to smartphones and e-mail-enabled mobile devices inside the hospital is becoming increasingly important. Unfortunately, hospitals tend to be relatively large and dense buildings constructed with materials that attenuate RF signals. For example, lead-lined walls prevent harmful radiation from seeping out but also block RF signals from getting in. No matter how strong the outdoor wide-area network, or how nearby the cellular tower, these buildings tend to have poor coverage.

Similarly, high above the city streets, in multi-tenant office buildings that hold thousands of workers, there is a requirement for reliable mobility driven by commerce. Sales teams depend on wireless coverage to follow up on leads, executives use mobile devices to close deals in conference rooms, and visitors access their carrier’s 3G network to stay current on industry news and e-mail. Office environments house an ever-growing host of applications that utilize RF signals.

In tourism-driven cities like Las Vegas and New Orleans, hotels and casinos inundate guests with luxuries to create a comfortable home away from home. Some guests use hotels, resorts and casinos as a getaway from their rigorous lifestyles, while others depend on those facilities for hosting business conferences and events. Convention and seminar attendees require wireless coverage similar to what they're used to in their office space. However, outside wireless signals have difficulty penetrating deep within large, cavernous buildings, leaving convention-goers and hotel occupants disconnected and unsatisfied.

Luckily, owners of existing buildings that fulfill these types of purposes have an option for updating their facilities to combat RF signal impediments that does not include demolishing their structure and starting from scratch: in-building wireless solutions. Just as plumbing, electrical wiring, walls, and flooring can be renovated in older structures, communications equipment can be strategically installed in standing buildings to achieve universal wireless coverage.

The simplest in-building wireless solution that can be installed post-construction is a passive Distributed Antenna System (DAS) that includes antennas, coaxial cable, a repeater, and a signal source. This type of wireless system is ideal for buildings that are smaller end but have high-performance mobility needs.

Due to the fact that RF signal fades when it travels over long cable distances, larger buildings utilize antenna repetition to prevent coverage dead zones.

The main concern a post-construction in-building wireless system has to remedy is the interference of outdoor signals after the system is installed. In-building wireless solutions providers can rectify this by conducting RF site surveys for existing structures and designing a completely customized wireless system tailored specifically to that building's physical properties and mobility requirements. Carrier-neutral in-building wireless systems, with antennas placed strategically throughout a building and its gathering areas, allow guests and occupants to experience the luxury of mobility without disrupting their personal or business needs.

Early Installation Saves Dollars, Makes Sense
While installing in-building wireless solutions post-construction is a welcome reality for existing building owners, architects and building developers are paying attention to a new, compelling argument for implementing an in-building wireless system during the initial construction phase of new structures -- something that has never been done before.

Installing utilities, such as electrical and communication wires, plumbing pipes, and air-conditioning vents when a building is under initial construction is cost-effective and non-disruptive. The same rationale applies to the installation of cabling and antennas that make up much of the structured portion of an in-building wireless system. Doors, windows, desks, metal elevators, concrete stairwells and even people absorb varying amounts of energy and interfere with the RF signals as they travel throughout a building. This is the reason why RF site surveys and a custom design team are needed to plan an in-building wireless system for fully-constructed buildings. In the wireless world, it is estimated that the post-construction installation cost of a system is more than 4 times that of pre-construction work.

Structured cable is installed with a higher density than its use demands by design. An office might have triple the amount of electrical outlets in use or have 2 to 4 structured cabling jacks, though many are idle most of the time. To design this way might initially seem inefficient, yet it has been determined to be the most cost-effective solution that allows for the inevitable changing environment. By approaching the wireless needs of a new building with a similar strategy during construction, enough antennas can be distributed throughout the building with little hindrance to ensure the even coverage of all mobile users that may occupy the building over its lifetime, even as their wireless needs increase exponentially. Structuring a building with the necessary broadband coaxial cable and antennas during construction -- alongside the installation of other structured cabling -- is a cost-effective, non-disruptive, and intelligent way to plan for the future.

When adding new infrastructure post-construction, not only do costs increase, but so does the risk of disrupting the comforts and conveniences of the building occupants. Adding additional wiring to a warehouse is relatively easy, as there are no ceilings to contend with and few people to disrupt, but in an office building or hospital, the installation becomes intrusive. In some cases, people can be displaced during installation and, minimally, their work day is disrupted. Instead of waiting to find coverage trouble areas, a cost-effective structured cable platform for uniform coverage provides building developers with a low-cost solution before high-cost problems present themselves.

The Evolution Toward the Utility of Mobility
In-building wireless systems are a much-needed evolution to the way wireless is delivered in enterprise buildings, hospitals, hotels, college campuses, and many other indoor environments that can benefit from enhanced RF coverage. More than 90 percent of the U.S. population has a cell phone today, and most of Western Europe has already moved beyond 100 percent mobile subscriber penetration. Employees, suppliers, customers, and general visitors that occupy these buildings rely on dependable connectivity in all aspects of their business and personal lives.

Wireless is becoming just as indispensable for day-to-day operations in the 21st Century as electricity and plumbing were in the 20th Century. This capability allows people to not only stay connected and achieve more in their professional and personal lives, but long-term it can help enterprises reduce infrastructure costs by embracing in-building wireless systems for their communications needs. Customized in-building wireless solutions for existing buildings and an augmented solution engineered for construction-phase installation are the most effective and sensible ways to prepare any building for its wireless utility needs  --  today and tomorrow.

 About the Author
Morgan Kurk serves as senior VP of Enterprise Intelligent Buildings at CommScope. He has more than 15 years of experience in the wireless industry. Morgan focused on wireless coverage problems in 1997 when he joined Allen Telecom, which later became Andrew Corporation. He has held a variety of positions including director of business development in the U.S. and China; VP of R&D, PLM, and Strategy; and VP and GM of the Wireless Innovations Group worldwide. Morgan joined CommScope in 2009. He is a regular speaker at industry conferences and is an expert in system integration. For more information, visit www.commscope.com.

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