The Northeast DAS & Small Cell Association’s 2018 Boston Symposium

The Northeast DAS and Small Cell Boston Symposium took place in mid-July, with our own Dennis Burns presenting on a panel about future-proofing commercial real estate hardware. We’re incredibly grateful to the team at NEDAS for letting us participate!

During the panel, Dennis and Jim Whalen, SVP and CTO of Boston Properties, discussed the impact on commercial real estate hardware caused by the transition from neutral host carrier funded models to enterprise funded models, a shift we’re seeing more and more throughout the industry. While most builds traditionally were constructed with carrier funding, but with the existing infrastructure today, commercial property owners have come to take on a larger role in securing connectivity for their tenants.

The panel highlighted the options these multi-office tenant owners have for future-proofing their buildings, including opt-in broadband provided agreements or seeking a neutral host like Strategic Venue Partners (SVP), which pays for hardware updates and replaces the equipment every 5 years. Additionally, OEMs can future-proof buildings with technology that is CBRS and LAA band capable to stay ahead of the curve with independent and private connectivity. Our own DAS hardware has support for both LAA and CBRS bands along with the 600 MHz band, making it a perfect option for commercial property owners.

For ADRF, each of these options includes something else that’s critical: modular design. All of the solutions we’ve built include plug-and-play modules that will ensure our customers, be they carrier or CRE, can easily add modules as new bands and wireless generations come online. I other words, we’re helping connectivity today without mortgaging the future.

Julie Song, President of ADRF, actually addressed this same topic in her recent Forbes article, highlighting how commercial real estate developers and building owners are incorporating both 4G LTE solutions, and prepping for 5G.

She states:

As 5G gains traction, [it] will become more commonplace as a key differentiator to attract a certain clientele, similarly to the way apartments and office spaces previously marketed installed ethernet cables.  

“Future Proofing,” is a part of ADRF’s DNA. As we’ve built our DAS solutions, we’ve incorporated modular design that allows for simple plug and play additions. Whether it’s the 600 MHZ spectrum, or the ability to easily support Band 14, we believe that our approach is among the most scalable, and most easily future-proofed on the market.

You can learn more about our approach to modularity and future-proof design by visiting our product page.