HetNet News: Stadium DAS, public safety, carrier Wi-Fi

Stadium DAS deployments continue
Infrastructure providers say the DAS RFPs keep coming from public venues, especially sports arenas. This week JMA Wireless said that Crown Castle will deploy JMA’s Teko distributed antenna system at Rutgers University’s High Point Solutions Stadium.
The Rutgers DAS will be ready to support multiple carriers, and JMA Wireless says that its PIM optimized universal compression connectors and antennas will minimize interference. JMA’s Teko DAS solution has also been deployed at Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, Angel Stadium of Anaheim and Lincoln Financial Field, home to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Public safety goes digital
Dali Wireless saw an opportunity to help first responders improve their performance after observing the impact of communications systems on several recent natural disasters. The company has just launched a new public safety solution (t-Series PS) which it calls the world’s only end-to-end all-digital platform for public safety.
“Some public safety systems need greater dependability and resilience to provide basic operability after a serious disaster,” said Shawn Stapleton, chief technology officer at Dali Wireless. “The t-Series PS is addressing the global need for interoperable and highly reliable broadband networks leveraging the latest and most innovative communication technologies for public safety use.”
Increasingly, first responders rely on live video feeds or HD video from surveillance cameras. Leveraging IP networks on public safety frequencies is a way to give crews access to information in more formats, and a way to enable sharing between agencies and locations.
Carrier-grade Wi-Fi scales new heights
New Zealand’s Spark NZ (formerly Telecom New Zealand) has turned old pay phone boxes into Wi-Fi hotspots, and from there has gone to put carrier-grade Wi-Fi hotspots into trains, buses, banks, beaches and now even a mountain top. Wi-Fi access points at the top of Coronet Peak allow customers to stream music and post to social media while they ski.
Cisco is the vendor for Spark NZ’s carrier-grade Wi-Fi solution. Cisco’s service provider Wi-Fi is based on Wi-Fi Passpoint certified products and is meant to provide carriers a platform for revenue enhancement.