Case Study courtesy of UCtel
Two large hospitals with a footprint of 46,027 m2 (495,432 ft2) with poor/no indoor mobile coverage for hospital staff and patients. Implementation of the solution during the COVID-19 outbreak.
CEL-FI QUATRA 1000.
CAT-6 and COAX cabling was installed throughout. CUs were installed below the ceiling tiles and passive antennas above the ceiling for neatness. Twelve systems in total were used to balance coverage and cost.
Complete in-building 4G mobile coverage on all four UK networks. Completed in short time frame during COVID-19 outbreak. Ofcom compliant solution.
London North West University Healthcare NHS Trust (LNWUH) includes Northwick Park Hospital and Central Middlesex Hospital located in the North West London. There were a number of buildings at each hospital which had patchy or no mobile coverage.
Mobile communication became of particular importance for patients and staff with the COVID-19 outbreak with Northwick Park Hospital being particularly hard-hit.
Key requirements for mobile technology included:
LNWUH approached Cisilion as a leading systems integrator to see if they had a solution to the in-building mobile coverage problems. Cisilion worked with UCtel, a CEL-FI partner who proposed a CEL-FI QUATRA solution.
Due to the size and shapes of the building at the two hospitals, two different solutions were proposed. For Northwick Park Hospital one building (6,117 m2 or 65,843 ft2) with two QUATRA systems per network and second building (3,410 m2 or 36,706 ft2) with one QUATRA system per network were required to provide the coverage needed. The Central Middlesex Hospital building covered a much larger area with 36,500 m2 split over the three floors and in this case a hybrid QUATRA and passive DAS solution with twelve systems in total were used to balance coverage, performance and cost.
During initial surveys, suitable locations were identified on the roofs of each of the buildings for the donor antennas and a range of antennas tested to ensure the best signal was captured from each network.
Cabling was installed through the buildings with CAT-6 throughout for the full QUATRA solution and CAT-6 and COAX cabling for the passive DAS segments. The CUs were installed below the ceiling tiles and the passive antennas above the ceilings for neatness.
Prior to the installation, there was patchy coverage on some networks and no coverage at all on any network in some areas. Post-installation surveys and walk tests showed the impact that the solution had, with full 4G coverage throughout and the ability to hold video calls while walking the entire building.
The hospital now has full mobile coverage in the areas where they need it to support clinicians and patients. The solution is monitored and supported via a managed service from Cisilion and UCtel ensuring that coverage is maintained and any incidents or changes in the environment are quickly addressed.
