If the world is currently focused on the chatter coming out of Philadelphia and the Democratic National Convention, it has InSite Wireless to thank for making it happen. Inside Towers got a first-hand tour of the convention facility yesterday to see how it was arranged to keep everyone talking politics, and how things are back at home and what restaurant they should go to and etc, etc.
“We’re very proud of our staff and project partners for getting the PCC DAS up and running in time for the DNC event,” said Joe Mullin InSite’s CTO DAS told Inside Towers in an exclusive interview. “Our biggest challenge was the timeframe – it was a very tight deployment schedule. We had to find creative ways to mobilize and demobilize crews in between scheduled shows, and manage equipment installation in public areas without interfering in the day-to-day operation of the facility,” Mullin said.
According to Mullin, the company has partnered with SMG and the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority to help ensure a better convention experience for wireless customers as they navigate the venue’s 2.2 million square feet of floor and meeting space and the popular Reading Terminal Market next door. As the DAS project manager for design, construction, and operation of the system, InSite also provided a revenue share to SMG and the convention center authority.
“It’s a familiar challenge that we’ve faced in other convention centers in our DAS portfolio—Las Vegas Convention Center and Moscone Center, for example—but each project brings its own little wrinkles. That’s what keeps the work interesting.”
Mullin broke down the details of what it took to cover a monstrously-sized space like this one:
- T-Mobile – full deployment / AT&T – signed up for partial deployment (in approximately 40% of the new DAS)
- Coverage includes the Pennsylvania Convention Center and Reading Terminal Market
- Frequency bands: 700, 850 cellular, 1900 PCS, 1700/2100 AWS
- 29 remote nodes configured in 15 coverage zones 2×2 MIMO using 221 antennas
- Solid equipment is 20 W Alliance revision 6 with 2 hour battery backup
- The headend facility has 40 tons of HVAC backed up by a natural gas generator, pre-action and FM200 fire protection
- T-Mobile covers the full facility on all 15 coverage zones using 6 RF sectors and operates UMTS on 1900 and LTE MIMO on AWS
- AT&T covers only the lower level of PACC and the lower level of Reading Terminal Market using 2 RF sectors on 5 coverage zones and operating LTE MIMO on 1900 PC
The Pennsylvania Convention Center, site of part of the action in the current DNC convention. Pictured, Jonathan Olexa, DAS Wireless Technician for InSite Wireless at the ‘headend’ of the system and one of 29 remote nodes stationed around the convention center.
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