Additional Challenges To Overcome
Public safety networks that utilize 2-way radio technology aren’t typically in any cellular providers’ wheelhouse. The carrier was able to meet the needs of the Braves and Cobb County by relying on ADRF to navigate the complex waters of building a public safety communications network that met and exceeded government code.
Redundancy for public safety network can be a challenge in and of itself. Unlike cellular, creating a dominant signal in the network will create latency in communications.
Building a communications network alongside new construction may seem like an ideal situation, but the cables required to run a network can be incredibly fragile. Trucks, bulldozers and hundreds of people working at any given time created an environment where cable needed to be laid multiple times. It would have been easier had the stadium been completed before installation. Instead, the approach relied heavily on consistent coordination with the general contractor to make the project to go relatively smoothly.
Solution:
Working with nation’s largest carrier, ADRF built a system that includes two diverse DAS sites, one on each side of the stadium. This created redundancy in the event of an emergency at one site. In total, these sites control 7 remotes, which were located in a way that provides significant overlap.
Components of the solution include:
-ADRF’s ADX DAS supporting Public Safety 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands
-ADRF’s 700/800MHz Channelized Digital Repeaters
Results So Far
On the field, the Braves are in rebuilding mode, putting young players in the lineup with an eye toward regaining their on-field dominance in the near future. In terms of their safety network, however, the team has implemented a proven winner.
The stadium has seen 100% uptime throughout its system, and 100% connectivity across its employee base. Emergency situations have been resolved more quickly, since the early responders who are nearest to a situation have consistently been the ones notified of an event, even if they were in underground tunnels at the moment of concern.
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