Cricket Communications Selects ExteNet Systems

ExteNet Systems’ new indoor wireless network has been selected by Cricket Communications to cover Chicago's f McCormick Place convention center. The wireless network has used heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems as waveguides for the radio signals and it has been installed across all four convention buildings.

 

According to ExteNet Systems, the company’s HVAC in-building distributed antenna system (DAS) approach provides the customer with the cost structure and flexibility needed to provide ubiquitous coverage. The company claims that the installation is easy and takes little time to start functioning.

 

McCormick Place is the nation's largest convention center consisting of four state-of-the-art buildings with a combined total of 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, 1.2 million square feet all on one level. Helping in the distribution of the signal through the buildings' HVAC metal ductwork, ExteNet Systems has provided a distributed antenna system (DAS) network which includes base transceiver stations, remote radio units and antennas.

 

“This was a complex installation that got great cooperation from Cricket's team and needed our joint design, procurement and network deployment expertise," said ExteNet's Vice President of Inbuilding Solutions, Jon Davis. "We had an aggressive timeline that met the needs of Cricket's launch in Chicago. Now that the indoor DAS network is operational, we are meeting all the key metrics that were established during the design phase.”

 

ExteNet System has already installed the indoor solution in suburban corporate campuses, downtown high-rises, hospitals and other health facilities, and institutions of higher education. According to the company, the customers are interested in indoor DAS networks as it can expand the reach of conventional cell sites by using discrete indoor antennas.

 

Recently, the company launched two distributed antenna system (DAS) networks that span across the cities of Mt. Vernon and Yonkers, New York. The two wireless networks share one base station and more than 90 miles of newly installed fiber optic cable. The networks provide wireless coverage for the two cities in southern Westchester County with more than a quarter of a million residents.