More than 100 companies that have partnered with CommScope on distributed antenna system projects have been notified that CommScope will offer free DAS training for its partners’ female employees. The need for DAS specialists is exploding, and many systems integrators are scrambling to find properly trained installers.
“The CommScope team believes that women can play an integral part in this growth,” said Pinder Chauhan, head of the company’s global technical support initiatives. “We also recognize that women tend to be under-represented in STEM careers, and we want to do something to help change that.”
Project managers, installers and engineers who can collaborate, communicate and negotiate are often key to successful DAS installations. DAS are different from cell towers when it comes to the number of stakeholders, in that the venue owner is usually very involved. Also, many DAS are designed as neutral host systems from the outset, meaning that multiple carriers may be involved. And unlike cell towers, distributed antenna systems can be built and maintained by technicians who are unwilling to scale heights and brave the elements.
“We recognize the important contributions that women make in a variety of roles in the technology industries that we serve,” said Chauhan. “We are starting with supporting women in our partner organizations because training programs are well-established there. For each training course we provide to partners, we will reserve a few seats to be filled by women at no cost.” The trainees can be certified on CommScope’s Node A repeater solutions and its ION-B, ION-M and ION-U DAS solutions.
Women are already leaders in the DAS industry. AT&T’s Paula Doublin leads a team of DAS area managers that includes a significant number of women. Doublin is enthusiastic about CommScope’s training program and looks forward to seeing more women enter what she calls “the greatest business on Earth.”
The Mobile Minute is sponsored by Juniper Networks.
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