State-of-the-art manufacturing facilities were under construction in an area outside Tucson, Arizona that was previously farmland. One building was 200,000 square feet and a second building was 600,000 square feet. The steel buildings were essentially giant Faraday cages, which, combined with the remote location, meant public safety and commercial cellular signals could not penetrate the two buildings.
During the inspection of the facilities for a Certificate of Occupancy, the fire marshal noted an Emergency Responder Communications Enhancement System (ERCES) was required to meet public safety regulatory requirements, due to the size and construction of the buildings. It was also apparent during construction that poor cellular reception throughout the facilities would require a cellular amplification solution. As public safety regulations dictate that ERCES systems must be separate from other cellular solutions, two independent systems needed to be installed.
When we started installing the ERCES system, the walls inside were just going up. There was good reception from all carriers outdoors, but signal dropped completely as soon as we came in the building, so we let them know at some point they would also need a cellular booster.
Jose Morales, System Engineer at Powernet.
Powernet offers turn-key services for both public safety and commercial cellular booster solutions including design, testing, installation and support. Our engineers do all the FCC registration and we make sure everything is up and running, including doing all the testing with the AHJ.
Penny Thurnau, Vice President of Channel & Strategic Alliances at Powernet.
To comply with the AHJ’s requirements for a Certificate of Occupancy, Powernet chose to install CEL-FI QUATRA RED Class A 700MHz/800MHz channelized Emergency ERCES (now Nextivity SHIELD EXTEND). It is the first ERCES that is able to boost both LMR and FirstNet signals.
Where other ERCES solutions require integrators to purchase different elements from a variety of vendors to create a complete solution, CEL-FI QUATRA RED (now Nextivity SHIELD EXTEND) simplifies the deployment by offering an all-in-one solution. It includes everything from the head end (Network Unit or NU), remotes (Coverage Unit or CU), Master Battery Back-up Unit (MBBU), Remote Annunciator, Emergency Power-off Switch (EPO), coverage measuring tools and comprehensive remote management. All components were built around the International Fire Code (IFC) and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, are NEMA 4X rated, listed to UL2524, and optimized as an integrated solution.
The CEL-FI QUATRA and SHIELD product families feature proprietary IntelliBoost technology that is approved for use by more than 200 carriers around the world. When SHIELD EXTEND (formerly QUATRA RED) is installed, the technology intelligently delivers the same strong signal to all emergency responders inside the facility regardless of where they are located in relation to the system head-end or macro high site.
The system also simplifies the testing process, ensuring it passes the inspection done by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ). SHIELD EXTEND (formerly CEL-FI QUATRA RED) is the first ERCES solution that includes built-in uplink grid testing along with downlink grid testing. The CEL-FI Compass handheld receiver tool is used to record the measurements on a 20- or 40-grid and input the data into the CEL-FI WAVE PRO cloud-based management system that produces a formal report for the AHJ’s Certificate of Occupancy or annual fire safety inspections. Using the testing tools can save considerable costs, and it speeds up the certification process by eliminating the need for the AHJ to return multiple times to redo tests.
A single SHIELD EXTEND (formerly QUATRA RED) system will cover up to 1,200,000 sq ft, and multiple systems may be combined for even larger projects. Powernet installed one Network Unit (NU) which is the head-end of the system, in each building. With the exception of the remote antennas, all head-end system components were installed in the ground floor stairwell areas, which are fire rated, in each building.
The Monitor & Battery Backup Unit (MBBU) provides constant direct current, alarming, monitoring, and battery charging capabilities. It integrates a wireless LTE modem and a wired Ethernet port for remote access to all system components via the WAVE Portal or the WAVE PRO app.
The system’s Remote Annunciator Panel provides automatic supervisory signals for any malfunctions of the ERCES system. Designed to prevent inadvertent operation, the Emergency Power-off Switch can instantaneously shut down the ERCES solution from a single point to eliminate the risk of combustion caused by electricity or static.
CEL-FI QUATRA 4000 active DAS hybrid specifically addresses the challenges of poor voice quality, dropped calls, and dead zones in large commercial buildings. Unlike analog boosters and bi-directional amplifier (BDA) passive systems, QUATRA delivers a cellular signal that is up to 1000x stronger for all major carriers simultaneously, offering a much larger coverage footprint. It is fully digital and uses lossless Ethernet cabling, making the installation easier and faster. Power over Ethernet eliminates the need to install additional power outlets for the Coverage Units (aka Remote Units).
However, when SHIELD EXTEND (formerly CEL-FI QUATRA RED) and CEL-FI QUATRA 4000 are installed in the same facilities to address both public safety and commercial cellular coverage, this problem is avoided. CEL-FI products are guaranteed unconditionally network safe, with no interference on the macro or other networks.
Nextivity SHIELD EXTEND (formerly CEL-FI QUATRA RED) passed the inspection needed for the Certificate of Occupancy on the initial AHJ inspection test, which was largely why the system was chosen for this time sensitive project.
The deployment of the systems went great. It took a four-person team about three weeks on and off to do the installation of both systems. Once the cabling was done, installing and commissioning QUATRA took two days as the systems are self-configuring. Optimum antenna positioning was also fast and easy using CEL-FI WAVE.
Jose Morales, System Engineer at Powernet.
This CEL-FI installation was undertaken by our partners, in which CEL-FI has a global footprint in almost 100 countries. For a referral to a local expert in your area, please contact us via phone or email.
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