The Smart Campus Super-Highway CONNECTION | SAFETY | SECURITY
Achieving the blended on-line/on-campus learning environment INTENNA SYSTEMS: Robin Lange The impact of Covid 19 on college and university campuses around the nation is far reaching and multi-layered, forever changing how they will operate on almost every level. Schools will have to connect physical places and digital platforms in a unique combination of common spaces, classrooms, labs, offices, libraries, study spaces, student service centers, and residence halls. Doing so will mean creating spaces that are more inclusive, multifunctional, like hybrid classrooms that support active learning, and blend different research methods supporting different ways of working.
Communication Regardless of how an institution reacts, effective communication will be key. Facilitating that is the challenge when it comes to transforming literally every nook and cranny of a campus environment both indoors and out ensuring any campus has a network with enough available bandwidth.
Connection It’s no secret that online educational needs have been greatly impacted by the pandemic as far as increased online course work, streaming classes, online exams and online text books. Add to that the increased need for bandwidth for personal activities not only for the student body, but the faculty and administration as well.
Streaming movies, video games, podcasts and just general online activity that increased exponentially because of quarantine will most likely continue at some level once students return to campus. In order to try to socially distance, a number of students will choose virtual class from their dorm over in person instruction putting enormous weight on the system the university has in place to provide connectivity. So, educational needs, campus life needs and then of course safety and security needs will all compete for space on the digital highway. The problem for most campuses coming up is the enormous increase in traffic that will test the integrity of current networks. If there's only a one lane highway, that’s kind of a recipe for disaster.
"Wi-Fi is a one lane highway and depending on that alone is a direct route to problems."
The Digital Highway It’s also important to remember that while you need a number of lanes for traffic on this proverbial highway, each lane is a different system. The trick is that all of those systems need to be good. Campus security radios, campus facilities radios, public safety radios, blue phones, campus emergency notification systems and contact tracing apps and not to forget outside emergency and first responders, will need robust, interference free, cellular connectivity indoors and out in order to function effectively.
In addition, all of these different technologies and systems run on different frequencies and that’s quite a bit of traffic on your network.
First Responders First Responders need wireless coverage that is interference free and ubiquitous. In the two decades since 9/11, the list of rules for building code have expanded to include functional emergency band radio inside buildings and is commonly part of the fire code for any new structure. These requirements are defined by national standard organizations such as the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) and IFC (International Fire Code) making available cellular connection the future of first responder communication.
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Public Safety When considering public safety, it is critical that an institution provide the ability to properly communicate during an emergency situation by addressing coverage for multiple cellular frequencies. Police, Fire, EMS and campus security operate on their own, dedicated, licensed radio frequencies separate from the cellular network. This means that each entity, whether it be on a county, township or campus basis, operates its own towers and broadcasts its own frequencies.
But priority means nothing if that responder is in the basement of building 101 and can’t get a signal inside.
FirstNet is a nationwide, first responder network built by AT&T that prioritizes first responder communication on their cellular network. Certain local government agencies have also opted to use FirstNet, in lieu of maintaining their own network, which gives them access to a highly reliable and secure, highspeed data network with the priority access that is required during emergency situations.
If users can’t get signal to call 911, no one shows up. If first responders can’t communicate from inside any structure, that can spell disaster. A cellular network that can distribute signal to be accessed inside buildings is critical to establishing and maintaining full, reliable and effective communication systems.
Mass Messaging Systems
None of that is good. Providing ample bandwidth to keep
The campus population has to able to
things running smoothly is the
receive emergency communications
best way to keep students and
wherever they are without exception. It
staff safe.
sounds harsh but the reality is that dead zones can be deadly. If everyone is not in a place where their devices are working and 60,000 people need to receive a single message then not all of them are getting that message in real time. The system gets overloaded, devices have spotty connection and there is increased demand creating more traffic on the highway. With the limited nature of macro cellular systems – those networks of towers all around you – there will be a high percentage of students and faculty that will receive messages after the fact.
In-Building Cellular
College
Every university and
If students have no cellular
college campus is now
signal and can’t make calls,
campuses
learning the maximum
they will switch over to Wi-Fi
around the
load of their digital
calling putting yet another
country are just
infrastructure and
strain on that network.
beginning to see
whether they have the
Adding Private LTE/5G and
available highway for
cellular DAS are things that
more traffic. Unless they
add another lane to the
have already expanded to
highway increasing
include technology other
bandwidth and relieving
capabilities of
than Wi-Fi, campuses will
congestion on the other
their data
find they need to pave
lanes of traffic while
more lanes to
improving safety.
accommodate more data
back-to-school
The challenge is figuring out
flow.
what your needs are – not
is upon us, says
However, each lane of the
only where the campus is
digital super-highway is a
lacking in available
different tech and each tech
bandwidth and how to
is finite. For instance, Wi-Fi is
improve user experience
a single lane highway, but it’s
but also how to build these
limited and can reach its limit
additional systems in the
very quickly.
first place.
how the new ‘digital normal’ will test the
networks as
Chris Lange, President and CEO of Intenna Systems, Inc.
The lesson here is, establishing multiple networks will multiply your available bandwidth for the entire population.
A cellular DAS can get inside all of the nooks and crannies in any environment to increase bandwidth to cellular and at the same time solve the problem of ecoefficient buildings. Energy efficient windows block UV rays and reduce utility costs, but they also block RF waves. So, those large towers outside have a tough time getting through the windows to distribute signal indoors. DAS can solve that problem. But cellular and Wi-Fi are not enough. The universal need to process data is enormous – phone calls use data, snapchat, research, online coursework, mass messaging- all of these things use data. The question is how is it processed – that’s the volume of traffic. If there are 100 reasons to use wireless connection then those reasons should be divided up onto different lanes on the highway. The optimal highway is going to have at least four lanes – not just two. And that includes Wi-Fi, DAS, CBRS (Private
Students and staff not only want but
LTE/5G) and two-way radio (private for
need continuous reliable connection.
facilities and public safety).
They want access at all times so that
Why colleges and universities need cellular now. Think about a day in the life of a college student. Tech has advanced so much that even just being a student has changed.
means remaining connected between, and in and out of buildings. Campuses are BIG. Collaboration and group project learning are on the rise, so being able to facilitate and support that kind of overall wireless learning and living environment can make or
break the reputation of an institution. The desire to have a connected campus is very high. That reputation can then lend itself to higher or lower enrollment as the case may be.
What about the “next big thing”? Pretty much any system or network you install anywhere has a shelf life of about ten years. Intrinsic in the design of a DAS network is the ability to deploy multiple technologies through a single architecture. There is no need to reconstruct when new technology comes along. One can build on the existing infrastructure. DAS is a digitally based technology that allows reprogramming for changes in the future.
Steps you can take to acquire the fully connected campus. The first step is a comprehensive campus assessment. You’ll need an RF consulting firm to complete a Wireless RF Survey and Needs Assessment to look at all the nooks and crannies and identify where the campus connections are deficient. Generally, universities have no idea what their connectivity is or isn’t. They don’t know if First Responder radios will work until they actually have a fire or an emergency. So literally every space on campus needs to be tested.
Step one is to understand. What is your situation? How congested is your highway – do you even have a highway? Who do you call?
Intenna Systems can design and build the entire highway - all four lanes. DAS, CBRS, Wi-Fi and two-way radio. We have over twenty years of experience designing, building and maintaining some of the most complex in-building wireless solutions anywhere. And we have developed a process for taking a project from needs assessment to engineering scope and design through installation all the way to deployment and maintenance to make it as seamless as possible. Think of Intenna as your department of transportation and let us help you get ahead of the curve.
sales@intennasystems.com
609.714.8268