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Feature Article*
Wireless-Ready
Buildings:
Satisfying Wireless Addiction Cost-Effectively
contributed by Kaval
Wireless
Addicted to Wireless
You don’t have to look far to find proof that wireless communication is
an integral part of people’s lives. Articles and reports in trade
publications and the general media cite
examples almost daily, but you can see wireless communication
everywhere: a person using their cell phone to check their voicemail
messages in a hotel lobby; a firefighter using a two-way radio to
communicate from within a building corridor to the crew stationed
outside; a maintenance worker in the field receiving the next service
dispatch page; a salesperson finalizing a deal in the back of a taxi.
The proliferation of wireless devices and an increasing reliance on
wireless technologies to conduct business and provide critical services
has created an expectation for “anywhere” wireless connectivity.
Escalating Expectations
The rapid, global adoption of wireless technology has demonstrated that
wireless is not just a fad. According to the latest edition of
Baskerville's Global Mobile Forecasts to 2010 Report by Informa Telecoms
and Media Group, the global mobile market is set to expand by over 800
million customers by 2010, reaching the 2 billion mark in 20081.
A January 2003 study from International Data Corporation found that
indoor coverage ranks as one of the ten most important service issues
for 2004.2 Based on available data and projections, the
expectation for “anywhere” wireless communication to facilitate business
and ensure the success of public safety operations is going to continue
to escalate.
Creating a Cost-Effective Wireless Building
Finding a cost-effective way to create a “wireless-ready” building is a
major challenge that property owners face. Generally speaking,
installing a complete, in-building technology infrastructure to make
wireless communications, such as cellular phones and two-way pagers,
seamlessly available throughout a building is a considerable
investment. Determining how to fund an in-building system can be
daunting. There are few truly desirable and viable options, for
example, having wireless service providers (carriers) assume financial
responsibility, funding the project through a third-party manager, or
making tenants bear the burden of system costs. This primer outlines a
cost-effective approach on how building owners can satisfy the need for
in-building coverage for wireless customers while creating long-term
business benefits from a wireless-ready building.
Houston, We Have a Problem
While wireless technology has changed the way society communicates and
conducts business with one another, it is not without its share of
challenges. One in particular is in-building wireless coverage and
communication. Most wireless users have experienced dropped, inaudible
or missed calls and pages in underground parking garages, elevators or
throughout office floors. These same in-building communication
deficiencies also affect the ability of first responders to perform
their duties in the public safety realm. Wireless coverage within
buildings is spotty, due to the inability of the wireless signal to
adequately penetrate various building construction materials (such as
re-enforced
steel, concrete, brick, and glass) or the signal being impeded by
structural or terrain-type obstacles between the building and the macro
cell site. An inability to seamlessly communicate in-building leads to
information delays and affects people’s safety, security and
productivity levels.
Since 1991, many U.S. localities have started to codify in-building
communication requirements as legislative standards, known as
“in-building communication ordinances.” These ordinances require
building owners to provide access to the public safety wireless networks
inside their buildings to enable coverage for first responders'
communication equipment such as two-way radios. Post 9/11, the number of
ordinances passed has dramatically increased as part of local, city, and state Homeland Security
efforts. Creating a wireless-ready building to provide effective
wireless communication is critical to the success of both public safety
and business operations.
Can
You Have Your Cake & Eat It Too? Of Course!
Different services need to be extended within buildings and facilities
to satisfy both tenants and first responders’ wireless communication
needs. Tenants typically use cellular and PCS frequencies from a variety
of carriers, while Public Safety operations rely on their own private
radio networks. Similarly, property management companies often use
private radio and paging systems so that their security and maintenance
personnel can communicate within and throughout properties. Given the
variety of wireless systems that tenants, maintenance personnel, and
first responders use, it’s not surprising that a considerable investment
is required to implement an in-building system that satisfies all the
various communication needs at once.
Building owners should consider taking a phased approach to implementing
in-building coverage to ease the cost burden, and to get a head start in
making a property(ies) ready to meet the wireless demands of tenants and
first responders.
Phase 1: Install Private Radio Network Coverage
The first stage of deploying an in-building coverage solution might be
to enable Public Safety frequencies and those used by maintenance
personnel in limited but core places such as underground areas, a main
elevator shaft, and common public areas such as a main lobby. Work with
an in-building solutions vendor with a scalable multi-service convergent
technology platform that can manage and extend multiple wireless
frequencies. The in-building infrastructure and equipment should be
designed to provide coverage for the private radio frequencies for Public
Safety, security, or maintenance personnel. The system should be
designed to provide continuous service starting with the elevators, main
lobby, and in underground areas such as a parking garage.
Taking ownership through a phased approach limits the initial investment
to a fraction of the total cost of implementing a property-wide,
in-building coverage system all at once. This approach is also a
cost-effective way to bring a building into compliance with pending or
existing in-building radio ordinances that exist in many U.S. cities. With this phase complete, building owners have a marketing edge because
they can now offer prospective tenants a “safer” building by providing
reliable wireless coverage for first responders. Enabling coverage for
maintenance and service personnel can also create better efficiencies
and improve customer response rates, ultimately raising tenant
satisfaction levels and tenant retention.
Phase 2: Install Cellular and PCS Coverage
Add coverage for your tenants by bringing in cellular and PCS
frequencies in the same areas within the building. Once equipped with cellular, PCS and
private radio coverage for Public Safety and maintenance operations, the
building is wireless ready. This upgrade is a cost-effective way to
turn the initial investment into a broader value-added service for
tenants. The enabled in-building coverage is good enough that tenants can
get hooked on it but cannot run their business through it. By initially
restricting coverage to the lobby, elevator, and underground area,
building owners can avoid lengthy congregation of users in common areas. The service is convenient but not compelling enough to entice users to
ride the elevator just to make a call, and it is useful enough that it
warrants examining how it can be extended within their own leased space.
Phase 3: Extend Cellular and PCS Coverage On Each Tenants Floor
The “wireless-ready” building is now a model demonstrating its
reliability, convenience and potential impact to overall productivity. Building owners can begin to offer to extend cellular and PCS
frequencies throughout tenants’ work or living spaces and potentially
bill it as a new lease-hold improvement cost or an ongoing leasing
cost. Approach tenants to determine their needs, which will vary on a
case-by-case basis. It is possible to extend a single carrier frequency
for some tenants and multiple frequencies for others. Not every tenant
will be ready for the service, but at least they’ll know that it’s
available when they are. Work with your in-building solutions vendor to
determine where to locate the necessary technology
infrastructure to complete the coverage
extension for tenants' work or living space. From this point forward, building owners can
begin to recoup costs associated with the implementation.
Summary
As demand for reliable in-building wireless coverage escalates, building
owners need a cost-effective way to implement an in-building wireless
coverage extension solution. Taking ownership through a phased approach
creates a wireless-ready building that can help increase tenant
retention, increase customer satisfaction, and increase marketability
options. Consider vendors that can offer a multi-convergent platform
technology. This will allow ease of expandability for new services, will
keep additional investments to a minimum, and make servicing the
technology easy. A property that provides a safe working environment and
delivers a valuable business communications service helps retain
existing tenants and attract new tenants. A wireless-ready building also
provides reliable in-building communication for first responders, which
is key to ensuring their safety and those of tenants. All in all, a
wireless-ready building is a showpiece in a portfolio of properties and
a model that others will try to emulate.
*CRE Partners is not responsible for the content, validity,
technical accuracy or other claims or information contained in this
article. Feature Articles are often authored by outside sources
and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of CRE Partners.
Further, publication of articles in the CRE Partners Newsletter and/or
web site is not meant to represent, promote, or endorse any company,
brand, product or solution.
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