Why Use DAS? 5 Benefits & Use Cases of Cellular DAS Systems

In the age of AI-driven solutions, IOT, intensifying security concerns, and surging customer expectations, demand for high-quality, versatile, and reliable cellular connectivity has never been higher. Here’s how cellular DAS systems are meeting that need, and the specific benefits and use cases they offer for organizations of all types.

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What is a Distributed Antenna System (DAS)?

Short for distributed antenna system, DAS is a term that describes a network of antennas configured to provide cellular signals throughout a building, property, or grounds, with the purpose of improving coverage and capacity, no matter the size or physical layout.

What are Cellular DAS Systems?

Does your mobile phone have five bars when you’re indoors? If so, there’s a good chance that the building you’re in uses a cellular DAS system. These systems offer a reliable way to provide seamless, high-quality cellular coverage, and can eliminate the dead spots and capacity issues that often result when a macro network (i.e., a traditional telecom installation) fails to fully penetrate into a building.

Briefly put, cellular DAS systems distribute capacity evenly and proportionately throughout a facility or property grounds, thereby serving a large number of users with fewer resources. In the process, they can eliminate the congestion that often comes with using outside cell towers, among a few other key benefits.

5 Benefits & Use Cases of Cellular DAS Systems

Building construction often uses materials like concrete, steel, and low-E glass that can limit the penetration and power of outside cellular signals. And in properties that include outdoor spaces, outside cellular signals are too often unreliable. Here are five ways cellular DAS systems correct those problems to improve and optimize cellular coverage, and how a wide variety of organizations can benefit from their use.

DAS Benefit 1: Reliability & Consistency

Because they use strategically placed, lower-power antennas, cellular DAS systems provide more even, seamless, and reliable connectivity throughout a building, even covering underground tunnels, basements, high-rise tenants, and other out-of-reach spaces.

In addition, cellular DAS is connected securely to a centralized control space, where carriers’ RF sources reside. Capacity is managed from that source to ensure high-quality performance, providing users with high-speed access and superior performance even during peak times.

• Sample DAS use cases: Reliable connectivity isn’t just good for business, but a must when it comes to security and disaster planning. Thanks to the redundancy built into them, DAS systems help ensure uninterrupted communications when traditional systems fail during emergencies, or when they’re exploited during cyberattacks.

DAS Benefit 2: Increased Capacity

Designed to handle numerous high-demand connections at once, cellular DAS systems can bypass the congestion problems that so often come with macro sites, which frequently fail to accommodate crowded spaces or demanding and volatile bandwidth needs.

Unlike those systems, cellular DAS systems can continue to offer optimum signal distribution without lags or other roadblocks to connectivity and performance, even when demand is at its highest — and in the face of outages across traditional networks .

• Sample DAS use cases: A DAS system with dedicated base station equipment is like having a collection of cell towers located within a building or premises. That makes it ideal for large spaces — think of a sold-out stadium, a crowded college campus, or a busy hospital. Ensuring optimum performance with cellular DAS doesn’t just help keep people happy and safe in these venues, but also ensures internal communication during the busiest times, with no unexpected outages.

DAS Benefit 3: Seamless Connectivity

Not only do cellular DAS systems offer more reliable, higher-quality connections, but they also excel at maintaining that connectivity as users move throughout a facility and its grounds, no matter how large, or how many obstructive materials may exist.

And because a DAS system can smoothly hand off to the outside macro network, that seamlessness continues even as they move beyond the premises, providing uninterrupted connectivity and real-time communication at all times.

• Sample DAS use cases: A leader who’s participating in a video conference on their phone while walking from the office to the parking garage, or an organization that needs to provide a suite of sophisticated functionality to its customers — say, online ticketing and real-time updates at an airport. Either way, DAS ensures reliable connectivity, while once again supporting security across every inch of available space.

DAS Benefit 4: Expanded Range

Cellular DAS systems are particularly useful in remote spaces where traditional connectivity may be difficult or cost-prohibitive. It simply lets businesses or other organizations cover far more space more effectively than ever before — a must for keeping every device connected in both high- and low-density locations.

Not only does cellular DAS help eliminate those notorious dead zones, but it ensures that signal distribution is smooth and uniform in even the most challenging environments, delivering connectivity that’s consistent and top-notch, everywhere, all at once.

• Sample DAS use cases: Thanks to the demands of connectivity and thorough security, this kind of range and reliability has become an absolute must not just in large retail spaces and multi-building corporate campuses but also airports, sports arenas and other sprawling outdoor venues, public transit hubs, and medical centers with thick concrete walls that can impede traditional cellular or single-node systems.

DAS Benefit 5: Scalability

Finally, with the relatively simple addition of more low-power antennas, cellular DAS systems can also be readily extended to cover new areas (or larger parts of the same area) without the need to implement a wholly new infrastructure.

And that scalability includes new tech as well as the expansion of physical space. In the age of AI, we can expect technology to continue to rapidly evolve. And with its ability to support next-gen standards, cellular DAS is perfectly positioned to grow along with it, ensuring long-term reliability and reducing the need for costly upgrades.

• Sample DAS use Cases: No matter what type of organization you manage, the benefits of investing in a future-proof technology speaks for itself. From 5G and IoT to AI and all off its expanding use cases, Cellular DAS is a solid foundation for ensuring future adaptability across an almost unlimited variety of potential scenarios.

Explore DAS Solutions with IES Communications

Whether you’re looking to improve connectivity or future-proof your technological infrastructure, you can trust IES Communications to develop and deliver the cellular DAS solution that works best for your business. Contact us today for a free quote or consultation.

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