As I am planning to dig deeper into IBS/DAS this month, I came across some interesting articles and books. I think the "Indoor Radio Planning" book is one of the most extensively written book I have ever come across about the subject.
It is a must read (if you belong to my category , 'the ones with little experience!! :(' )
First and the most basic question would be , why would operators invest for in-building coverage? Why not use the coverage from outdoor Macro sites ? Why pay so much ? To answer this question in simple words , they are getting a boost in their traffic and hence revenue. Lets consider an example of shopping mall , ( being a frequent-shopper I can completely relate to it), If I have good coverage inside the mall, I tend to get the pictures of the dress I am trying on and ask my friend for her opinion if I am confused. (See there is some boost in the traffic). Studies have shown an instant boost in traffic upto 120-140%. In the long run investing in the "in-building coverage" is going to be financially beneficial for operators.
Now that we are clear about why we are doing what we are doing. Lets move to the Basics.
There is one most important parameter that one needs to understand/consider while designing an indoor system. "ISOLATION" !! Proper isolation has to be maintained between in-building and macro systems. That means we want our inbuilding sector to be dominant inside the building and there should be minimum spillage from the sector outside of the building. Very simple concept to understand but can give you some tough time depending upon the building architecture. Planning the antennas is a different thing and installing those at the exact same location is another big task.
The next important aspect of any DAS is the components. Lets look at this simple diagram explaining the DAS architecture. This picture is taken from the same book.
As the diagram explains, there are different components of the system. Each has certain specifications, compatibility issues etc. Fortunately the tool takes care of the compatibility and the losses. Otherwise after selecting the CAT cable, one would have to look at the frequency and then decide on the length , get the loss etc. Tools also help us by calculating the power
In the next post of the month , I will be covering the indoor design procedure.
It is a must read (if you belong to my category , 'the ones with little experience!! :(' )
First and the most basic question would be , why would operators invest for in-building coverage? Why not use the coverage from outdoor Macro sites ? Why pay so much ? To answer this question in simple words , they are getting a boost in their traffic and hence revenue. Lets consider an example of shopping mall , ( being a frequent-shopper I can completely relate to it), If I have good coverage inside the mall, I tend to get the pictures of the dress I am trying on and ask my friend for her opinion if I am confused. (See there is some boost in the traffic). Studies have shown an instant boost in traffic upto 120-140%. In the long run investing in the "in-building coverage" is going to be financially beneficial for operators.
Now that we are clear about why we are doing what we are doing. Lets move to the Basics.
There is one most important parameter that one needs to understand/consider while designing an indoor system. "ISOLATION" !! Proper isolation has to be maintained between in-building and macro systems. That means we want our inbuilding sector to be dominant inside the building and there should be minimum spillage from the sector outside of the building. Very simple concept to understand but can give you some tough time depending upon the building architecture. Planning the antennas is a different thing and installing those at the exact same location is another big task.
The next important aspect of any DAS is the components. Lets look at this simple diagram explaining the DAS architecture. This picture is taken from the same book.
As the diagram explains, there are different components of the system. Each has certain specifications, compatibility issues etc. Fortunately the tool takes care of the compatibility and the losses. Otherwise after selecting the CAT cable, one would have to look at the frequency and then decide on the length , get the loss etc. Tools also help us by calculating the power
In the next post of the month , I will be covering the indoor design procedure.
