Demystifying DAS A DAS Industry Overview
Your Presenters Steve Olsen, President 0ver 30 year wireless veteran Sean O Reilly, VP 18 year low voltage veteran RCDD/DCDC ICC WIRELESS Designing and Building Access To The World s Information.
DAS Definition Distributed Antenna System Simply a Big Fancy Antenna Carries Signals Around the Building Combination of Electronics, Fiber, Copper, Coaxial Cable, Antennas
Signal Sources: Essential But Laws Abide DAS does nothing without a Signal Source Tacit for Public Safety. Certificate of Occupancy Dependent for New Construction Two Different types of Signal Sources BDAs Bi-Directional Amplifiers Always the source for Public Safety DAS Only for low capacity Cellular DAS. Some carriers prohibit altogether BTS Base Transceiver Station/Small Cells FCC rules mandate use of signal sources Must be with express written permission of the spectrum licensee
Public Safety Requirement Need for DAS Anecdotal requirements Coverage Enhancement Only 700/800 MHz Interoperability Construction Materials Tends to Evolve within AHJ May be in code, but may not be enforced More common over time High Profile System for Dollar Value No Certificate of Occupancy without it
Public Safety Requirement (Continued) Code Driven and Increasingly Standardized IFC 2009 must be directly amended in, IFC 2012 standard NFPA 72-2013 Chapter 24 Code interpretation is very local Code does not always define building type wired systems where it s determined by fire official it s not needed Often in a technical bulletin
Typical Technical Standards Critical Areas Stairwells, Areas of Refuge, Fire Command Center, Elevator Lobbies BDA Requirements Defined Coverage Design Goal = -95 dbm Secondary Power = 12/24 hours Specific Test Criteria Often will allow tests to prove a system is not needed NEMA Enclosures Fire Control Panel connectivity supervisory alarm Two Hour Riser Rating
DAS Technologies for Public Safety Depends on Frequency Band VHF/UHF/700/800 BDA with Coaxial Cable 200K square feet for 700/800 Much Larger Buildings for VHF/UHF Fiber/Coax Systems Sometimes Shared with Cellular Pros and Cons FirstNet impact
BDA /Coax System
Fiber / Coax DAS Public Safety and Cell
Cellular DAS Traditionally Can You Hear Me Now? Strictly coverage DAS as a Growth Business Explosion of smart phones Ubiquity of wireless Evolution of wireless from highways to indoors Was Single Carrier Centric Enterprise: # of Handsets x ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) x Term of Contract Airports, Stadiums, Casinos
Evolution of Cellular Technologies Now it s all about data demand insatiable Rapidly Evolving Technology LTE (Long-Term Evolution) 2G Voice 3G Voice and Light Data 4G High Speed Data Now VoLTE (Voice over LTE) Integrated Voice and Data requiring even higher signal strength Increasing number of bands: 700/850/1900/AWS/2300/2500 More Auctions, More Spectrum 5G is still years away
DAS For Building Owners Fundamental Question: Why should I fix the Carrier s problem? Two fundamental answers: Because it s not worth it to the Carrier to fix it Hospitals, Education, Hospitality, Government New construction is not in their vernacular DAS demand has outstripped Carriers ability to fund More frequently, building owners choose to fix the problem Value Proposition: constituents demand it New construction is a budgeting event and a good time to fund DAS And new buildings have problems due primarily to low-e glass Alternative solutions Smaller pre-approved repeaters, WiFi calling
Signal Sources: Working With Carriers Requires Patience, large companies, complex processes, motivations Our goal is to have Carriers provide a signal source at no charge Cost of Signal Source BDAs less expensive. BTSs very expensive Low cost small cells becoming more prevalent Samsung efemtos for Verizon Carrier s Engineers concerned about Cost of solution Impact of solution on the network
Signal Sources: Working With Carriers (Continued) Carrier Motivation Sales: Carriers want enterprise opportunities Cost is a factor Improve their network, plugging in signal sources to Enterprise DAS becoming the norm Integrators provide carriers: propagation design, baseline data, capacity info Carriers approve proposed DAS solutions
Takeaways Signal source for public safety is simple since licensee has tacitly approved connection Carriers are much more complicated Concerned with cost, need, impact on network Must be an intimate part of the process Two pronged approach Client works through Sales channels Integrator works through Engineering channels Requires time to get a solution Solution may look different in 12 months than it does today
DAS in Construction Documents Primarily Design Build Public Safety often in Specs Have seen it designed Challenge keeping up with code changes, local attitudes Cellular often Division 27 Typically performance based spec Define: Manufacturer, Design Goals, Frequency Bands, Technologies, Carriers, Public Safety Challenge with rapidly evolving technology Design Dos and Don ts Public Safety Cellular
DAS Technologies for Cellular Older technology, still most cost effective and most popular Especially multi-carrier for foreseeable future New Developments: Higher Power, Better Noise Figure CAT6 Architecture Pros: good RF properties, cabling advantage Cons: more cost per square foot, public safety support Complete Fiber Architecture Matches PON architecture Pros: integrated MIMO, PON, can run more than DAS (WiFi, Security, etc.) Cons: more cost per square foot, public safety support
DAS Technology for Cellular (Continued) DAS manufacturers higher and higher power Requirement driven by VOLTE (Voice over LTE) Measured in dbm - the power ratio in decibels (db) of the measured power referenced to one milliwatt (mw). -92 dbm RSRP (Reference Signals Received Power)/-65 dbm RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indication) MIMO (Multi-Input/Multi-Output) vs. SISO (Single Input/Single Output) Stadiums, Airports, Casinos MIMO Enterprise Primarily SISO (Cost)
DAS Manufacturers SOLiD Commscope Corning JMA TEKO ADRF Axell
3 rd Party Tower Companies Extenet, Crown Castle, American Tower, Boingo Wireless, Mobilitie, 5 Bars Competing Business Model: No Funds From Owner Challenge: Will DAS actually get built? Funds typically come from Carriers
Questions?