There’s nothing worse than not being able to communicate inside your own building.
Wireless signals in indoor and outdoor spaces should be fast, crisp, and without frustration.
But, with increased users causing bandwidth issues, poorly designed networks, and less than ideal hardware, we’ve found that communication inside schools, office buildings, and other organizations to be challenging at best.
The job of a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is to solve these annoyances, once and for all.
A Distributed Antenna System (DAS) should work to improve wireless signals in indoor or outdoor spaces, overcome obstructed signals, and remove interferences.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for DAS because buildings and venues are uniquely designed, with no two structures or buildings alike. For DAS solutions to work, the appropriate system must be customized to fit the needs of your space.
Here’s a few important things to consider when seeking a technology partner to design and implement your DAS solution.
Inability to remove interferences
During the design phase, one of the things a technology consultant will do is to determine all the potential interferences that must be addressed, and/or removed. These interferences are things like surrounding buildings, noise, and fortified construction to name a few. When possible, some interferences can be removed, but most of the time, the goal is to work around interferences as most times these interferences are solid structures that can’t simply be moved.
The practical solution to the problem is to detect all causes of interference while using automatic detection and mitigation processes to ensure the effectiveness of your DAS solution.
Near-Far
One of the things you’ll most likely hear from a technology consultant like Parallel, is the concept of near-far issues. Near-far refers to a device that is operating on the DAS coverage zone, while it is serviced by a microcell tower that is not nearby. As a result, the DAS is affected because it must work overtime to transport data as the mobile device communicates with the cellular network. This is frustrating because it creates interferences and performance issues with your Distributed Antenna System.
The solution is to design the DAS with this in mind because of how much macro signal bleeding occurs in a building or venue. Then, you can benefit from a DAS signal powerful enough to keep the mobile device operating as opposed to switching back and forth between the macro system and the DAS network.
Budget and time restraints
This is a common problem to overcome in fixing your communication issues. For instance, different network frequencies are more cost effective to construct than others. You’ll uncover answers to questions like what range your DAS solution requires, what frequency you need, and is this solution for aspects of public safety or not. While VHF and UHF are costlier and more complex, it takes time and budget dollars to install custom cabling, fiber optics, and other equipment.
The best solution is to plan for costs ahead of time by having a conversation with a team member from Parallel Technologies. Even if your building is in pre-construction, we’re still here for you to help guide you as you make sure your school, building, or facility has the best communication possible.
Future-proof your Distributed Antenna System
As technology continues to evolve, it’s important to look towards the future when designing your DAS so you and your workforce remain efficient over the long haul. One way to ensure this is to develop and document a roadmap for growth with your communication needs in mind. This roadmap will align your future building plans, expansion efforts, and your IT strategy. It’s critical to take the right steps towards ensuring future traffic and wireless network demands can be met by your system.
Parallel Technologies has been helping schools, municipalities, and businesses with Distributed Antenna Systems for more than 20 years.
Click here to talk with us about Distributed Antenna Systems for your business or organization.