Communication networks across our commercial buildings are constantly evolving. Integrated cabling systems across copper and fibre technologies combined with Wi-Fi / Bluetooth access points enable building services such as lighting, energy management, security, access control and supervisory management to meet the demands of these environments.
In today’s fast pace lifestyle, mobile devices have become an integral part of our lives, and we rely on them as a constant source of information – as a result, mobile phone coverage within a building is now seen as an essential service and it is expected everywhere, at any time, just as we expect utilities such as water, gas and electricity.
With nearly 80% of all mobile communications performed in an in-building environment, it’s important to ensure that commercial buildings have reliable and resilient internal mobile coverage via a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).
A DAS solution extends a Telecommunications carrier’s network throughout the building through a series of nodes connected to in-building infrastructure to ensure network coverage is not interrupted and signal strength is maintained.
An in-building DAS solution has become a critical part of both carrier cellular networks and enterprise infrastructure. But as the technology has evolved over the last 20 years it has become increasingly complex. At Madison Technologies, we understand the delivery journey for our clients is as critical as the final product, that’s why our in-building coverage (IBC) team is committed to delivering our clients’ projects to the highest standard.
Madison Technologies employs industry leaders who have a proven telecommunications track record. Our core team specialise in key areas such as planning, network design and construction, RF engineering, and project management. All Madison Technologies projects are designed to the Mobile Carriers Forum (MCF) specification.
A Distributed Antenna System integrates a range of specialist technologies. The experienced Madison team are available to answer any questions you have and ensure your DAS system provides optimal network coverage
We connect customers with reliable and robust communication systems and have the experience to take ownership of managing the end to end process for deploying a DAS solution. Our capabiliites include:
When deploying a DAS solution Madison’s program delivery follows six key phases. Experts are engaged at each stage of the process to ensure best in class delivery.
When a building owner, manager or tenant identifies poor mobile signal coverage and capacity within a building a Distributed Antenna System is required to be deployed in order to resolve the issue. This solution often a necessity in locations such as:
IBC is a generic term that stands for In-Building Coverage or In-Building Cell. IBC refers to the whole in-building coverage ecosystem and can include things such as the carrier base station and any other active elements. Whereas DAS stands for Distributed Antenna System and is a specific part of an IBC system. DAS only refers to the antenna system that distributes the carriers signal within the building.
Passive DAS systems means that the DAS itself is not driven by any active elements. It means that the DAS is not powered by any other element other than the base station which the carrier provides and plugs into the DAS. Passive refers to the fact that all elements in the system are passive as the system does not have its own power source nor generate its own power. This is the most common type of DAS system in Australia.
Active DAS Systems are also common in Australia. Active DAS means that there is an extra set of equipment which acts as a power booster. Active DAS systems are typically used for much larger buildings and sites. As a building gets larger, the signal strength can become weaker, therefore using an active component will give the DAS signal a boost. A DAS system with active equipment and elements is referred to as an active DAS.
A hybrid DAS is a combination of active and passive DAS systems. Part of the DAS may be powered directly by the carriers base station, and that will be the passive part of the DAS, and there may be other sections of the DAS which are located quite far from the carrier base station and therefore, that equipment requires a power boost, by using an active element or component. Using a combination of passive and active equipment and components, is referred to as a Hybrid DAS.
DBS stands for ‘Distributed Base Station’. This means that base stations can be distributed around the building using remote heads which are fibre fed equipment. A DBS solution is essentially a passive DAS system except carrier base stations are distributed around the building rather than congregating in one particular room.
MCF stands for Mobile Carrier Forum, and is essentially, an organisation that was formed by the three main carriers in Australia, Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. These three carriers wrote this specification document and update it regularly with industry standards. Prior to 2018, the MCF was updated in 2014, and is regularly reviewed to ensure industry trends and requirements of the DAS industry are kept up to date. The pricing is dependent on the size of the project, room requirements, equipment requirements and Connection Fee.
The MCF2018 is an industry standard document, its main role is to advise and be used as a guideline for DAS projects. The MCF2018 specification list is not necessarily strict and mandatory as there are things that can be negotiated between the DAS integrator and the carrier. While some elements of the MCF are strict and need to be adhered to, there are some elements that can be negotiated. It is best to speak with the DAS integrator. If the DAS integrator has good relationships with the carriers, they can negotiate on behalf of the building owner or developer with the lead carrier. Therefore, most items in the MCF are standard and mandatory, but there is some room for negotiation.
The lead carrier needs to sign off on the DAS system at two stages, the design stage and the project completion stage.
There are two types of carrier. The lead carrier is the main carrier that is ultimately responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the DAS system. The sharing carrier is a secondary or third carrier that plugs into the DAS system once the project has reached completion and is not responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the DAS. Sharing carriers need approval from the lead carrier before they can connect to the lead carrier DAS.
The lead carrier will sign off after two checkpoints, first after receiving a detailed design of the project. The carrier will either accept, reject the design or require amendments to the design. Secondly, the project completion checkpoint, once the post completion documentation such as, build design, walk test and KPI reports have been submitted, the lead carrier will examine the reports and may perform their own testing, once checked the carrier will sign off on the completion of the project and arrange for connection.
For more information please visit the AMTA website.
For greenfield projects where DAS is installed in new buildings, the DAS system is included in the electrical and communications package, and the telecommunications carriers ie. Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, do expect the builders to pay for the DAS system.
The reason for this is mobile coverage is seen as an essential service, so people expect to have coverage regardless of location.
As mobile coverage is treated as an essential service, like other utility services. For example, utility such as water and electricity services will organise the connection, but do not pay for the plumbing or wiring of a building. It is up to the building developers or building owners to pay for the equipment needed so the connection can be made. Once the building is ready to be connected, carriers will then make the connection to the network which will then provide signal coverage within the building.
The pricing is dependent on the size of the project, room requirements, equipment requirements and Connection Fee.
As the equipment and base stations reside on site, the carriers would like to have the building owners or developers pay for the equipment. The equipment only provides signal to the building and not anywhere outside the building, the carrier is only providing a service and therefore, from the carrier’s perspective it does not make sense for the carrier to pay for the cost of the equipment.
However, occasionally part of the base station equipment cost is included in the Connection Fee carriers charge for the connection. This fee is negotiated between the carrier and the building owner or developer.
The Connection Fee is there for the same reason you would pay a connection fee to connect your water or electricity. The connection has associated costs such as, requiring a technician onsite, carrier equipment and other network related costs. Typically, the invoice from the carrier will not be itemised, so knowing exactly what the Connection Fee covers, can be confusing. Generally, this fee varies depending on carrier and project size and will include the costs of the carrier equipment.
Currently, the in the latest MCF2018 specifications, there is no requirement for a 5G DAS system. All carriers are currently deploying the 5G network across the country and its starting to make its way into the In-Building environment. Usually macro and roof top sites will have 5G installed first. Once that is completed, the carriers will start considering 5G in an indoor environment.
When upgrading a DAS system to 5G, there are a few things to understand first. Firstly, under the current MCF2018 specifications, many of the DAS systems in Australia can only operate from the 700-2700MHz spectrum. 5G operates on a number of frequencies, essentially, 5G can operate on any frequency, however, the most popular frequencies are currently in the 3.5-3.6GHz Band (C-Band) or the higher frequency Millimetre Wave Band. A current DAS system from 700-2700MHz does not support these frequencies, therefore, if the carrier only offers 5G on those higher frequencies, DAS systems operating on the lower frequencies will not be able to support 5G. However, if carriers intend to refarm some of the current frequencies for 5G in the future, for example frequencies used for 3G or 4G, then existing DAS systems operating on a 4G network will be capable of supporting 5G.
If carriers make large investments in the 3.5-3.6GHz band, there is passive equipment such as, DAS antennas, cabling and splitters that do already support up to that frequency. It is likely the next revision of the MCF2018 specifications may require the operational frequency range of a DAS system to be higher and cater up to 3.6GHz.
If carriers do choose to refarm existing bans, no additional work is required, as the DAS system will be able to support these frequencies and it is each carrier’s responsibility to maintain the base station equipment to support 5G. However, if upgrading the DAS system to support the higher frequencies, a new system would need to be built. This is because existing passive infrastructure cannot support a frequency as high at 3.5- 3.6GHz
Pricing include many variables, and it is difficult to tell how much it would cost to replace all the passive components of an existing DAS, which would be required if upgrading DAS to support higher frequencies. However, it is likely that carriers will refarm some frequencies in the 700-2700MHz band so that existing DAS systems can support 5G. Which means if DAS has already been implemented in the building, they will not be made redundant and can continue to be used for years to come, and therefore, may not cost building owners anything to upgrade their DAS system.
Pricing varies depending on supplier, as there are many variables. The builder or electrical contractor may provide drawings of the DAS system project plan to different suppliers and request quotes. Each supplier may come back with a different solution for the project.
There are many ways for the drawings and project information to be interpreted, and there is no specific way to set up an IBC/DAS design as long as the project is compliant. Some suppliers may quote 60 antennas, while others can create the same level of coverage with 50. There is nothing wrong with having more or less antennas, as long as it meets the coverage objectives.
Solutions for DAS projects vary. One supplier may quote for an active design and another will quote for a passive design, and this may contribute to the different costs. Active designs have more elements and therefore will cost more to implement. However, it may be important to include active elements in the design. For example, the building site could be quite large, and the DAS may need a power boost from the active elements. In other cases, the DAS designer may design a DBS solution, which may bring the cost down, even in a large building site. The other variable is the lead carrier, different carriers have different approved lists for material to be used on their DAS. For example, different carriers have different suppliers which also impacts the cost and therefore solution design.
Each carrier will have their own DAS requirements, although the MCF2018 specifications is an overarching document, each carrier does have their own specific requirements when it comes to DAS. If there is a lead carrier who is involved with the early stages of the DAS project, they may have additional requirements that need to be implemented early in the project. This causes variables between carriers and pricing.
It is important that builders and electrical contractors provide detailed drawings for their RFQ’s for their DAS project. Design teams require Reflected Ceiling Plans (RCP’s), General Arrangement Plans, cabling paths, as it is important to know where cables can be run, the location of the risers, size of the room and the location of the DAS room. If the project begins without knowing exactly where the DAS room will be located, it is still vital to understand the locations of the cable trays, therefore containment drawings are also necessary. It is better to provide as much information as possible when preparing an RFQ pack for the DAS suppliers, this will ensure quality designs and the best possible solution for the DAS project.
There are a number of things to consider once the DAS has been built. Ideally, a lead carrier has already been organised, but if not, there is still plenty of time to organise one. The DAS integrator can help with organising a lead carrier. The lead carrier will require a MCF2018 or a lead carrier design to sign off on. Once the DAS is close to completion the DAS integrator should help the building owner or developer to notify the lead carrier. Notifying the lead carrier before the completion of the project is important as the lead carrier requires sufficient lead time to prepare their end of the connection, which includes organising the base stations and transmission work to be able to plug into the DAS.
Once the DAS system has been built, the lead carrier will require a handover pack. While some carriers require different things, generally they include the lead carrier compliant DAS design, updated as-built drawings, the design in the industry standard IBWave format, Walk Test report and CAD files. This is so if the lead carrier makes any changes or upgrades in the future, they have the drawings and files on hand and can design the upgrades themselves.
A Walk Test report can be difficult to obtain if the lead carrier has not plugged into the system yet. However, the DAS integrator can use a CW generator to generate an RF signal that can be measure for the Walk Test. This report can then be submitted with the handover pack to show the lead carrier that the DAS meets MCF coverage requirements. Once the handover pack has been submitted, a Connection Fee will be negotiated between the building owner or developer and the lead carrier. The DAS integrator can assist with negotiations.
Occasionally the lead carrier will make comments or amendments they require. For example, there may be an area that they believe has insufficient coverage, and therefore needs modification. If the lead carrier is satisfied with the handover pack, they will install their base station and transmission equipment allowing the DAS system to now connect to their network and the DAS will start providing In-Building coverage.
The Connection Fee is a fee similar to what would be paid to have the electricity or water connected to a building. The cost varies a lot from project to project and is negotiated between the lead carrier and the building owner or developer, the DAS integrator may be able to assist with the negotiation process.
Once the DAS system is running, the lead carrier takes care of any upgrades or maintenance to the system and the building owner or developer is no longer responsible or liable for any costs with the exception of damage to the system. If a building tenant or building owner caused damage to the DAS system, they would be liable to the cost of rectification. Any standard wear and tear, maintenance or upgrade costs is the responsibility of the lead carrier. The lead carrier will likely install an authority metre so they can monitor energy consumption as all cost in powering the system is now a responsibility of the lead carrier. Any Sharing carriers will also install their own metre and pay for their own electricity usage.
It is important to understand that the building owner is required to hand over the DAS to the lead carrier upon completion, either at no cost or as a peppercorn agreement. While it may seem like a large investment to hand over free of charge, it is important to remember that the building now has full coverage and the maintenance, upgrades and cost for electricity to power the DAS is now free of charge, which is standard in the DAS industry and has been working well for building owners and carriers so far. Some carriers do require tenure and require the building owner or developer to sign up for either a license or a lease, so the equipment has security of tenure. This is generally understood as all DAS systems typically have a dedicated room where the equipment is housed.
The MCF2018 specification document states the minimum size room requirements is 32m2. The specification in the MCF is a guideline, therefore, size requirements can be evaluated during the design of the project. It is important to keep in mind the size of the racks required when evaluating the size requirements, including the height, for your DAS room.
Each carrier requires a minimum of 4 rack spaces. Racks spaces are 600mmW x 600mmD. It is important to account for an additional 600mm for the actual rack door to swing open, which means a total depth of at least 1200mm is needed. Australia has 3 operators, therefore the DAS room should provide at least 12 racks, however, it is recommended to provide 5 racks for each operator. Generally, the DAS room should at least cater for 4 to 5 rack spaces per carrier.
Generally, DAS rooms need approximately at a minimum 4KW per operator or per carrier. Peak power is used to calculate the power requirements. There are a lot of variables when it comes to working out how much power is needed. It depends on the size of the system, as a larger DAS system will increase the power requirements, whereas a smaller room will require less. Each carrier tends to use different base station units from different vendors, which all have different power requirements and it depends on how the base stations are configured. How many technologies are put in and how many carriers run within each frequency. Air conditioning power requirements also need to be considered. It is best to seek advice from the DAS integrator.
The MCF2018 states that a minimum 12kW split system is required. Depending on the size of the project, this may or may not be enough air conditioning for the DAS room and is dependent on how many operators will be installed, and how the base units are configured. For example, a typical configuration with 4kW of total power output, requires a 12000 btu/hour capacity air-conditioning unit. It is best to seek advice from the DAS design team. They can work with the carriers to work out the exact heat load and the air conditioning requirements for each project.
Generally, the building developer or building owner pays for the room itself, although it does not have to be a specifically built room, as an existing room can be easily converted. The room does not need to be a room dedicated to the DAS equipment, however rooms that are specifically dedicated to a DAS system, generally have the best outcomes, however the space still needs to meet minimum space requirements to run 3 operators with at least 4-5 racks each.
The air conditioning and electrical set up costs, including the DAS equipment, are also paid for by the building developer or owner and should be considered when putting together a budget for the DAS project.
M32M2
The Carrier most likely will not sign off on the detail Design put forward hence the DAS deployment will not be able to go ahead.
The builder must supply a 100 Amp single phase supply with a 36 pole Distribution board.
While it’s preferred, it is not essential
MCF2018 Mandates that you must provide 6+6KW on a 1+1 Hot standby configuration.
Currently, there is the MCF2018 standard. The current specifications only talks about 4G networks. However, as 5G has been around for some time now and is gradually making its way into the In-Building industry, the carriers represented by the MCF will have to update the MCF document to incorporate technologies such as 5G and perhaps beyond.
The current type of Distributed Antenna System, using coaxle cable, which runs into small dome shaped antennas that are deployed around the building will still exist in the future in the In-Building industry. This is because the current system is flexible, and carriers are able to refarm their frequencies for 5G. This means that many of the older DAS systems using pure passive systems will still function as 5G becomes universal. The typical passive DAS systems and dome antennas will still be around for years to come.
The next thing to happen in the DAS industry, is the new age generation of systems which run on fibre and to some extent, higher grade Ethernet cable. These fibre based systems, which are called low powered active systems, will have a lot more intelligence at the edge. These systems will replace the small dome antennas with small boxes that are similar to Wi-Fi boxes. These small units will have computing capabilities, which will allow them to not only deliver 5G, higher throughput and lower latency via 5G but also have additional functionality such as, Bluetooth capabilities, gigabit Ethernet passthrough and a whole host of additional exciting features that can be implemented by using a more intelligent unit.
However, currently there is no standard on these type of systems which is why they have not yet been implemented by carriers. These units are also more expensive to incorporate into a DAS project and DAS Integrators typically want to keep costs as low as possible for the building owner or developer. Soon, these systems will become more common, as the small low powered active systems are the future of In-Building coverage. While it will likely take a while for these systems to be implemented, they will at some point hit a critical mass point and will become a standard adopted by the major carriers.
Looking further into the future, these lowered power active systems will become more common and their functionality will continue to improve, which will offset some of the cost. For example, If a small lowered power unit can track assets, that is a benefit to the building owner, which will in turn, help him manage his building.
There are pros and cons to this technology, cons being the price of the units and pros being the additional features and capabilities they can perform.
Another trend likely to be seen in the future of the DAS industry is smaller sizing in equipment and the requirements needed for the DAS room. Currently, a typical DAS room requires a minimum of 32m2 and needs to host at least 4-5 racks per carrier. When a carrier plugs into a DAS system, they need to deploy racks for their base stations equipment, transmission equipment and back up battery packs, which take up a lot of space. Once all three carriers have plgged in, there will be at least 12 racks of equipment just for a typical passive system, whereas other system types would require even more space. This dedicated room comes at quite the cost to the building owner or developer, not only do they have a room that they cannot charge rent on, they have decreased the square meters of useable space in the building. However, the DAS industry is shifting to a more virtualised system, which means that all the core functionality is done elsewhere and the building has remote units that are driving the DAS system. Instead of having a dedicated DAS room, it is possible to have only a few small units on the wall driving the DAS system, saving the building owner or developer on space and cost of electricity and air conditioning.
Further to the future, the software based capabilities the DAS industry will start to see, will run on top of these new active systems. For example, Huawei has a product called ‘Lampsite’, and it has functionality to run, what they refer to as a ‘Service Anchor’. Which allows a third party software developer to run its own applications over the ‘Lampsite’ and use all of the ‘Lampsites’ location functionality, which opens up the IBC and DAS to a whole array of third party functions that have not yet been explored by the DAS industry. Other vendors will also likely develop similar software and features. Software driven capabilities will be an exciting new capability for DAS systems although, still a few years away.
From date of receipt of PO for a detail design to be completed, it typically takes 4-6 weeks to submit to the lead Carrier.
A lead Carrier, pending how busy they are, could take “few weeks” to review, make recommendation for small changes and send back to Madison for a final update. In-turn Madison will take 1-2 weeks to implement the recommended changes and return to the lead Carrier for their signature. The Carrier could again take “few weeks” to review and sign off on.
The ONLY party that can approve a submitted detail design is the lead carrier. Also, the lead carrier can’t be forced into signing a detail design. While highly unusual, the lead carrier retains the right to refuse to sign off and connect to a proposed DAS solution. Note the Carriers OWN the frequency spectrum proposed to be used hence they always have the last say on the decision making.
ASAP. In order for the Lead Carrier to consider our detail design and sing off on it, they must have engaged with the building owner to agree on a interconnection lease agreement.
Discussions in relation to any interconnection costs are strictly between the Lead Carrier and the building owner. There is an NDA signed off by both parties in relation to any commercial discussions taken place. It is however understood, costs for EACH Carrier vary from 0$- $300k pending on the project.
The best way to identify the individuals representing each Carrier is to visit AMTA MCF forum site. The link to access these contacts is here
Telstra:
Joanne Lyng
National In-Building Coverage Manager
Enterprise Business and Government | Wireless Access | Network Engineering
Email: joanne.lyng@team.telstra.com
Optus:
Elie Abouhanna
Associate Director IBC Solutions | Networks
Email: Elie.Abouhanna@optus.com.au
Vodafone Hutchison Australia:
Kellie Gerardis
Project Manager – Central Projects Delivery
Email: Kellie.Gerardis@vodafone.com.au
