 Wireless in the EnterpriseThis newsletter is sponsored by Blue CoatNetwork World's Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter, 07/25/07The carrier impact on distributed antenna useBy Joanie WexlerMany companies are interested in installing cellular picocells so that indoor employees can receive mobile WAN signals. It is typical for buildings to get weak or no reception without such equipment. A distributed antenna system, or DAS, picks up the signals from the picocell and carries them to antennas throughout the building. Using such systems for in-building coverage is important to businesses that wish to support cellular use. Some companies would like to extend their PBX dial plans and features across the cellular network to accommodate both indoor and outdoor users, for example. Others might fancy new mobile Centrex services, which locate PBX-like call switching features and dial plans in the cellular network. This scenario requires strong signals indoors, as well.
The most difficult part of getting DASs in place, particularly for companies without large mobile carrier contracts, is getting the carrier to supply the picocell in a timely manner—even when the customer is purchasing it with real dollars. That was the case with the K&L Gates installation of Verizon Wireless gear, discussed last time. A lesson learned is that it’s important to get a commitment from your mobile carrier(s) for a picocell before purchasing and installing the DAS. Otherwise, you might find yourself with an investment in the DAS but with no signals for the DAS to distribute. In K&L’s case, T-Mobile picocell equipment showed up in a timely manner (about three months), says Rodney Carson, the firm’s D.C. director of administration. “But it took about 18 months to get the Verizon equipment.” In the meantime, internal Verizon users went without service. Part of this is politics: K&L didn’t have a services plan with Verizon; individual employees procured their own devices and services. But it did have a data services plan for its BlackBerry users with T-Mobile. DAS suppliers and their customers are dependent on mobile operators to provide the local radio frequency source, “because they own the licenses to the spectrum,” acknowledges John Spindler, vice president of marketing at K&L’s DAS vendor, LGC Wireless. But depending on who the customer is and who does the carrier negotiation, this part of the project can take a long time. The Verizon situation “was nerve-wracking,” says Carson. “You’re at the carrier’s mercy,” agrees Richard Glasgow, president of Glasgow Group Inc., the telecom consultancy in Great Falls, Va., that served as K&L’s project manager. “I’ve never known a carrier to say ‘no’ [to supplying a picocell]. But carriers tend to be extremely busy, and it’s not a priority for them,” particularly for companies that aren’t major customers. Carson estimates that the Verizon Wireless base station was about $50,000, while the T-Mobile counterpart was less than $20,000. The DAS cost between $80,000 and $100,000, he says, noting that it was “cheaper because it was installed during initial construction, when the building was wide open with no ceilings or walls.”
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| Contact the author: Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at joanie@jwexler.com. This newsletter is sponsored by Blue CoatARCHIVEArchive of the Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter. BONUS FEATUREIT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICESTo subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007 |
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