Within the past few years, private wireless networks have quickly shifted from “nice to have” to a “must have” for a number of businesses. New advanced technological solutions offer companies the chance to gain a competitive edge, and private wireless plays a key role in making that happen.
This is Part 1 of a 2 part conversation on improving in-building coverage with the Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC). We hear about the 3 pillars of in-building public safety communications: 1) mobile 911 calls must get out with location accuracy; 2) mobile mass notifications must reach building occupants; 3) first responder communications must work.
Advanced technologies have transitioned from a competitive edge to a requirement for businesses, and private wireless is an ideal solution to support the growth. However, it isn’t right or necessary for every organization. It’s important to understand what special benefits it provides and if it’s necessary for your business.
Most hospitals around the country, particularly in rural areas, still struggle with modernization through cellular networks. This is usually because of the belief that WiFi is good enough, and confusion about how impactful it is to hospital operations coupled with budgeting concerns. The article is a typical path and process for investing in the right cellular connectivity.
The public safety communications market has historically been a quiet giant in the wireless industry. In-building connectivity for first responders has always been important, but now mobile carriers are also bringing public safety much closer to their core consumer-facing brand.
Fire and Life Safety Systems are required and can be expensive and complex to deploy. This is due to the extensive wiring, network architecture planning, and system integrator costs needed to ensure the systems are installed properly for the unique environment and jurisdiction requirements to ensure systems work without fail each and every day.
Open RAN and private networks are two of the most consistently hyped wireless network technologies, but so far neither has reached mass adoption. Now open RAN vendors are starting to see potential in enterprise networks, and companies that deploy private wireless are evaluating open RAN.
There has been much discussion of the different characteristics of high, mid and low band 5G with respect to penetration, propagation and throughput. These differences emphasize two key metrics, power consumption and spectral efficiency, and are reasons that mid band has become the de facto gold standard of RF for building out 5G networks.
Open RAN isn’t a technology; it’s a global concept that’s all about ensuring interoperability. It will usher in a new level of flexibility, innovation and market competition within the telecom industry.
Enterprises looking to innovate should understand the characteristics of each type of 5G spectrum as they consider installing their own private wireless network.