FAQs

Can I contact CSI to design and install an in-building system?
Yes. CSI offers complete turnkey services for in-building wireless systems. A CSI technician performs a pre-installation site survey to evaluate the system requirements. In-house engineers design the Distributed Antenna System (DAS), indoor antenna locations, cable routes, equipment placement and wireless coverage with state of the art design software. After a pre-installation review meeting, installation is performed in a professional and expeditious manner by trained personnel. No installation is complete until our customer is completely satisfied.

 

How is an in-building Distributed Antenna System installed?
A small, low-profile directional antenna is mounted on the roof of the building and aligned towards the donor serving cell site. This antenna receives the downlink signal from the cell site and transmits the uplink signal from the wireless handset within the building back to cell site. A BDA is mounted in a utility or telecommunications room and small interior antennas are installed in the ceiling. The indoor antennas locations are strategic to best distribute the signal within the building. Coax cable is routed between the outdoor antenna and BDA outside antenna port through a lightning arrester and grounding kit. Coax cable is installed above the ceiling connecting the indoor antennas using splitters and directional couplers to the BDA inside antenna port.

 

What if I have a very large facility or campus that requires wireless coverage?
CSI has designed and installed well over 7,000 in-building systems including many Fortune 500 companies, universities, airports and tunnels. Fiber Optic equipment may be used to transport signals over existing backbones between wings and buildings. Please contact CSI to discuss your requirements.

 

What type of equipment does your company typically install for small jobs?
Coaxial bases solutions are very cost effective and allow for multiple technologies to operate.

 

What type of equipment does your company typically install for large jobs?
Fiber based solutions are more cost effective for larger systems, are easier to maintain and service, and can provide service for multiple technologies.

 

What type of equipment does your company typically install for multi-carrier solutions?
The size of the project, the types of technologies, and the RF source to be deployed will determine which type of system we will install.

 

What technologies do you currently support?
Because of our product neutral approach, we support all current technologies and frequency ranges.

 

What challenges and design considerations are needed to support high-speed cellular data for a DAS?
Data throughput decreases as receive signal decreases due to lost packets on the network. CSI designs for -70dBm minimum RSSI coverage throughout the defined coverage area. We will evaluate the construction of a building to determine propagation characteristics as well as areas of high user traffic to ensure that cellular data coverage is sufficient.

 

What challenges and design considerations are needed to support heavy WiFi data use or WiFi voice use for a DAS?
CSI WiFi designs take into account quality of service for the user, optimizing placement of antennas (APs), power control and frequency allocation to reduce co-channel interference. We will evaluate the construction of a building to determine propagation characteristics as well as areas of high user traffic to ensure that WiFi data and voice coverage is sufficient.

 

Describe the technology and methodology used to transitions from cellular services to fixed wireless services across the 802.11 family without loss or interruption of service.

Because of our product neutral approach, we support all current technologies and frequency ranges. CSI WiFi designs take into account quality of service for the user, optimizing placement of antennas (APs), power control and frequency allocation to reduce co-channel interference. We will evaluate the construction of a building to determine propagation characteristics as well as areas of high user traffic to ensure that WiFi data and voice coverage is sufficient. The technology chosen (802.11 a, b, g…..) will be based upon the types of usage (voice, data, back haul…..) for each project. Each technology has its own unique set of channel requirements which will guide us in our design and implementation of each solution based upon your requirements. Layered implementations are more prevalent in DAS solutions that provide coverage for the wireless service providers to mitigate interference issues, keep signal loss to a minimum due to long cable runs, and to handle capacity.