#InbuildingWireless – Considering Public Safety Coverage
For last week’s #InbuildingWireless blog post, we discussed the third most common error which was overlooking operational expenditure when implementing an in-building wireless system.
This week we will discuss Error #4: Not considering public safety coverage
On top of improving in-building coverage and capacity for mobile users, ensuring that first responders like firemen, police and other emergency personnel have access to communicate clearly to each other within the building or facility is also very important. Especially now local governments around the country are passing ordinances requiring enterprises to install in-building public safety coverage for first responders. In some cases, it’s no longer a “nice to have”, but a mandatory requirement.
Depending on the goals of the enterprise, public safety and commercial wireless network can either be integrated or kept separate. This presents a new consideration: Should buildings converge both public safety and commercial cellular networks, or should they be on separate systems?
Public safety and commercial wireless networks have varying goals. With more than 85% of mobile traffic occurring indoors and as mobile data traffic continue to grow, enterprises are looking beyond just coverage for their users, but also at capacity to accommodate the increase in indoor data consumption such as video streaming and internet surfing on mobile devices. Whereas with public safety, emergency personnel have a vital need for accessibility to communicate at all times – even in thick walled stairwells or in underground parking. Keeping the public safe is their responsibility, therefore, reliable coverage and access at all times is an absolute necessity.
With two very different goals and requirements, design is also very different. For example, antenna placement might be different due to the frequencies utilized in public safety and commercial wireless environments. Not only that, wireless systems need to be planned for capacity, and often times, re-sectorization is required to accommodate the increase in traffic in a particular area. Whereas, for a public safety system, reliable coverage and access at all times is very important.
Even with varying goals, requirements and design, both public safety and commercial can be on the same system, fiber, coaxial cabling and antenna infrastructure. Integrating both the public safety and the commercial frequency bands in a single infrastructure is possible with an all-digital DAS.
In the instance where security and redundancy are of concern, both the commercial and public safety systems can be installed separately. However, it is recommended that both systems should be installed in parallel if feasible. This would be beneficial as laying both cable systems at the same time would reduce ceiling and riser work, providing cost savings.
Next week will be our fifth and final blog post on common errors to avoid, where we will discuss not utilizing and engaging mobile operators and their critical role. To read previous blog posts, click here.
If you would like to share any comments or questions, please tweet us @DaliWireless.
Don’t miss our next blog post. Subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter