VIDEO: Conventions boost in-building business: ADC big winner from election coverage

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The two political parties looked to a Minnesota-based company for its technology to build a network that could handle thousands of cellphones and wireless devices in use by delegates, staff and the media during the conventions in Denver and the Twin Cities. A major wireless carrier serving customers in the Twin Cities reported a huge spike in usage because of the GOP convention.

ADC was responsible for boosting cellular service with its in-building technology at the various arenas and buildings used by the parties during their respective conventions. ADC used different active distributed antenna systems to boost mobile

communication inside the sites where Democrats and the GOP conducted business.

The company said it was selected to provide its services to the conventions based on its track record and partnership with major cellular carriers.

The systems ran smoothly at both conventions, said John Spindler, ADC VP of product management. “There were no hiccups at any of the venues,” he said.

The use of the antenna-system solutions in buildings is projected to drive active DAS systems growth at a compound rate of 28% through 2013, according to a recent study by ABI Research. In-building wireless revenue is projected to reach $9.2 billion during that timeframe.

“As in-building wireless systems become more useful to building owners and enterprises, reliability and manageability will become important design factors,” Dan Shey, an ABI principal analyst, said in a news release. “This will provide development in all related equipment and will create more managed-services opportunities, ultimately growing the in-building wireless ecosystem and revenue.”

As data services become more prevalent in the workplace, additional wireless capacity and increased coverage at higher frequencies are needed inside buildings.

“As buildings get smaller, and with the presence of older passive systems, solutions will utilize a toolkit of options including repeaters, femtocells, picocells and passive and active DAS systems,” Shey said. “This solution complexity will also create a very competitive supplier environment.”

Spindler has read Shey’s report and agrees with its findings. He said in-building is no longer for a niche market.

“The market is growing fairly rapid,” he said.

For the Democratic convention in Denver, ADC was paid more than $1 million, Spindler said. The cost included equipment. Spindler said he didn’t know how much the company was paid for the Republican convention.

Of the two convention sites, the Denver project was more complex. ADC used its InterReach Fusion technology to boost wireless coverage inside the Pepsi Center, Invesco Field, Ritz Carlton Hotel, Museum of Nature and Science and Coors Field. The Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver was already equipped with an existing in-building system. The InterReach Fusion technology is used for areas greater than 250,000 square feet.

“It was quite a far-reaching project,” Spindler said.

For the GOP convention in St. Paul, ADC’s FlexWave Universal Radio Head systems were used at the Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul River Centre and Roy Wilkins Auditorium. Spindler said the FlexWave technology is used to boost coverage in smaller areas, both indoors and outdoors.

The additional wireless coverage was needed as Verizon Wireless reported there was high usage in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area because of the convention. During the five days of the convention week, cell sites serving the Xcel Energy Center and the surrounding St. Paul area completed more than 4 million additional data transmissions, an increase of more than 245%. The cell sites also carried 1.8 million additional voice calls, 82% more than a normal week. Prior to the convention, Verizon Wireless spent $6.4 million to upgrade its network in the Twin Cities.

The two antenna systems ADC provided at the conventions work in similar fashion, Spindler said. The systems connect to an existing wireless network and then simulcast the signal to every antenna in the system. The antennas are deployed in various areas of the buildings, including catwalks.

Spindler said businesses and owners of buildings should take note that the technology for the conventions was installed in a timely fashion. He said the Secret Service took over the buildings well in advance of the start of the conventions.

“These particular deployments had a hard start date,” he said. “The systems needed to be in and needed to be working.”