In Building Wireless
Used to boost the signal of cellular.
Terms
IBW — In Building Wireless
DAS — Distributed Antenna System.
BTS — Base Transceiver Station
ER — Equipment Room
Donor Antenna
- Mounted outside to get signal from cellular provider
Signal Sources
Off-Air
Getting the signal off the air
- AKA, repeater
- AKA, bi-directional amplifier
- Does not add capacity
- Extends coverage
- Cheapest
BTS Signal Source
- AKA, NobeB
- AKA, eNodeB
- Carrier dependent
- Requires fiber from the cellular provider
- Fiber goes into BTS
- BTS goes into DAS
- Expensive
Small Cell
Image courtesy of Panduit.
- Carrier dependent
- Internet based
- No SLA
- Doesn’t always scale well
| Type | Power | Coverage | Capacity | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Femtocell | 0.1 Watt | 60 ft. | 6 users | Indoors |
| Picocell | 1 Watt | 750 ft. | 64 users | Indoors |
| Metrocell | 5 Watts | 1,000 ft. | 200 users | Indoors/Outdoors |
| Microcell | 10 Watts | 5,000 ft. | 1,000 users | Indoors/Outdoors |
DAS Types
Passive
- RF couplings
- Splitters
- Taps
- Wires
Hybrid
- Fiber
- RF is carried via coax to passive antennas
Image courtesy of Panduit.
Active
Image courtesy of Panduit.
- Fiber
- Active antennas generate their own RF