Three Cellular Carriers have Joined the Distributed Antenna Network
November, 2009
In March 2008, AT&T became the first mobile carrier to participate in the Distributed Antenna System (DAS). Recently, Sprint and Verizon have also agreed to participate in the DAS network.
The intent of the DAS network is to achieve the greatest possible outdoor coverage and service levels on campus from each participating carrier. The improved outdoor cellular service coverage target for DAS is 90-95% of the main campus. As a result of the placement of the various antennas, many buildings have also seen improvements to cellular service. The expectation for wall-to-wall, in-building coverage is at about 70% of any given building using an outdoor solution.
Carrier participation is voluntary and comes at a considerable expense to them. The university is fortunate that these three cellular operators have agreed to participate in the DAS network and consequently the campus has seen improved coverage.
