BEYOND THE 911 CALL
Mobile network operators offer un-
limited data plans, in part, because
they recognize that people want
constant connectivity and are
willing to pay for it. In today’s
mobile-first society, people do not
tolerate a weak cellphone signal.
“Being fully connected is
a necessity for residential buildings,
not only for safety reasons but also
because using cellphones has become
part of the daily routine,” says
Seri Yoon, marketing director
at Advanced RF Technologies Inc.
(ADRF), an in-building wireless
solution provider. “Not having
adequate coverage for major wireless
operators can kill a deal for
apartment hunters.”
“Wireless technology has the
potential to create competitive
differentiation, cost savings, improve
the tenant experience and provide
operational efficiencies only
imagined earlier this decade for
the commercial real estate market,”
adds Mark Horinko, president
of Airwavz Solutions, an inbuilding
connectivity provider.
Part of that tenant experience
means being able to access devices
not just in-home but also while
using apartment amenities in other
locations, such as the gym or parking
garage. The average person’s smartphone
contains around 80 apps with
an average of 10 apps used per day,
according to App Annie, a global
provider of mobile market data.
Indeed, people use mobile apps for
setting up ride shares, shopping,
banking, and even to lock
and unlock their vehicles.
50 I ICT TODAY
To be able to use these apps,
a building must have robust indoor
coverage and capacity; many
buildings do not. Some materials,
such as concrete, steel and lowemission
glass, can block cellular
signals from transmitting inside
the building. In that case, building
owners and managers may want
to augment wireless coverage with
an in-building system, either by
deploying a distributed antenna
system (DAS) or small cells, to
increase coverage and capacity.
To augment a campus environment,
a combination of cellular towers
and rooftop antennas can also
be utilized.
THE FUTURE OF
CONNECTIVITY
Going forward, the rollout of 5G
cellular networks and Citizen’s
Broadband Radio Service (CBRS)
spectrum at 3.5 GHz will further
Wireless generations
in the United States
1G
Supports voice
calls with speeds
of up to 2 Kbps
2G
Supports voice
calls and SMS
text messages
with speeds of
up to 64 Kbps
FIGURE 2: The 5G evolution.
enhance public safety and
security communications.
The Promise of 5G
5G mobile communications networks
(Figure 2) are expected to disrupt
nearly every job sector and ecosystem
across the world as deployment of
these technologies enables more
robotics and automation.
5G will expand into a new area
of mission critical services that
will require high reliability, ultra-
low latency, strong security
and availability.
Key requirements cited by the
International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) to define 5G include:
• 1 Gigabit per second (GB/s)
speeds in the field
• 1 Millisecond or less
end-to-end latency
• Support for 1,000 times increase
in bandwidth per unit area
WHAT IS 5G?
5G
Supports all 4G
functions, but
with projected
speeds between
10 and 100 Gbps
Source: WIA
1980’s
1990’s
3G
Supports voice
calls and SMS
text message,
videos, mobile
internet and
Bluetooth
connectiity with
speeds of up to
2 Mbps
2000’s - present
4G
Supports all 3G
functions, but
with speeds of
1 Gbps
2010’s - present
Undergoing
deployment