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In-Building Wireless Coverage and theCase for Pre-wiring with CommScopesWired for Wireless Solution

White Paper January 2011


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White Paper: In-building Wireless Coverage and the Case f

Pre-wiring with CommScopes Wired for Wireless Solutio

Contents

INTRODUCTION 2

IN-BUILDING WIRELESS DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 2

MINIMUM SIGNAL LEVEL THRESHOLDS 2

ANTENNA LOCATIONS 2

PATH LOSS VS. DISTANCE 5

WHY DESIGN AND INSTALL THE HORIZONTAL RUNS FOR AN 6IBWS DURING INITIAL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION?

SUMMARY 6

COMMSCOPES WIRED FOR WIRELESS SOLUTION 7

WIRED FOR WIRELESS CABLES AND CONNECTORS 8

FXL-540-NHR HELIAX LOW SMOKE ZERO HALOGEN CABLE AND 8

EZFIT

540EZNMV2 CONNECTOR

PLENUM RATED HELIAXAL4RPV-50 CABLE AND 8

L4TNM-PSA POSITIVE STOPTM CONNECTOR

WIRED FOR WIRELESS 20 YEAR EXTENDED PRODUCT WARRANTY 9

ANNEX A: ADDITIONAL ANTENNA PLACEMENT DESIGN GUIDELINES 10


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Introduction

Wireless cell phone coverage in general, and In-Building Wireless Solutions (IBWS) specifically,

have consistently grown over the past 20 years. What was once available only for high value

executives is now indispensable for all. Technological changes have provided the platform for

an unlimited number of wireless services available anytime, anywhere as long as there is

coverage. The wide-spread use of cell phones throughout every strata of society has made the

mantra of indoor coverage everywhere a universal goal, from the high-rise office building and

bustling manufacturing center to the local mall and big box store, from the apartment complex

and hospital to the single family home. As subscriber penetration moves beyond 100%,

expectation and real economics demand coverage everywhere. This need is juxtaposed with

traditional ROI constraints as well as access and ownership issues, but perhaps the most

difficult impediment of all is the mystique in planning such a system.

In-Building Wireless Design ConsiderationsIn the macro world, over the past 20 years, the design of cellular systems has evolved from

planning a purely coverage model (high power, high elevation sites) to a capacity model, lower

power, lower elevation sites. Indoors, a similar phenomenon is also taking place. In the past,

the only goal was for basic coverage, but todays requirements demand uniformity and future

proof upgradeability. The key driver for this is the constant addition of new services and

subsequently new frequency bands, utilizing more and more capacity and thus requiring higher

and higher signal-to-noise levels. The need to future proof a building for indoor wireless

coverage is critical as the cost and inconvenience of disturbing the building continues to rise.

Minimum Signal Level Thresholds

For mobile devices to perform optimally they require a minimum signal-to-noise ratio.

However, signal-to-noise ratios require an understanding of the particular environments noise,which changes over time, by time of day, by year and by location, changes that are generally

out of control of the designer of the indoor system. It is therefore critical to design the system

in such a way that it will be fairly immune to the outside effects. This requires both a receive

signal strength of -80 dBm or better and an informed positioning of the antennas.

Antenna Locations

Placing antennas in the appropriate locations is one of the most critical factors in maximizing

the effectiveness of the indoor wireless system and simultaneously making it future proof.

In many environments that have partial coverage around the outer walls of the building, one

might think of placing the indoor antennas purely in the center to provide coverage where

there is none. This is often viewed as the least expensive solution, which may initially be true;

however, it provides the worst possible system performance and the least likely future proof

solution, making the total cost of ownership very high.

To ensure uniform coverage, the indoor antennas must be evenly spaced throughout the

building, with perimeter antennas placed 20 5 ft (6 1.5 m) from outer walls. The outer ring

of antennas can be directional (although omni-directional antennas will also work), pointing

back into the building, almost as if the building is being covered by a blanket of invisible

signals. In this way, the signals from the indoor antennas will swamp out the signals from the

outside environment, forcing all devices in the building to gain network access through the

buildings system, thus making their experience uniform and controllable.

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In addition to placing antennas at the edge of the building, it is ideal to spread them evenly

throughout the building, in a grid pattern that is much the same as used for Wi-Fi (802.11)

systems in the 2.4 GHz band. To ensure uniform coverage, antennas are placed throughout thebuilding at 100 ft (30 m) intervals. This will provide an antenna point within 72 ft (22 m) of any

user, which provides homogeneous RF coverage and thus uniform service throughout the

structure.

There are two other scenarios that dictate where antennas should be placed. In the event there

is an elevator core, an antenna must be placed on each floor within 20 5 feet (6 1.5 m) of

the elevator. In this case the requirement is to penetrate what is mostly a metal box, which is

highly resistant to RF penetration.

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The final coverage requirement (mostly for public safety applications) is to cover stairwells.

Typically stairwells are shielded by massive amounts of concrete and steel rebar and very little

RF can penetrate such a structure. An antenna must be placed on every 6th floor (starting withfloor 3) within the stairwell itself. This requirement changes to an antenna every other floor if

the stairwell has no central opening (if you cannot see floor to floor in the stairwell). In this

case the antenna should be a wall mounted omnidirectional antenna, or two directional

antennas may be used, one pointing up, the other down, so each antenna covers 3 floors up

and 3 floors down. Since this is an area which does not have a great deal of traffic for

commercial purposes, the deployed frequencies may only be public safety, however, the media

(cable) and antennas will, in all cases, work for both systems.

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In the final analysis the objective above is to blanket the entire building with signals that are

received by the mobile devices at -80 dBm/carrier or better. Although this paper will not go

through the math required for link budget analysis it is valuable to see how RF signals attenuate

with propagation and to understand that other materials such as walls or people also absorb RF

energy and therefore attenuate signals as well. In a custom designed building, test transmitters

are temporarily setup and RF losses are measured, and in addition a signal scan is performedto measure the outside environment. With the above mentioned design principles, this costly

and time consuming design step is eliminated and a slightly more conservative design

approach is taken with respect to antenna placement. By reducing the spacing between

antennas it is safe to conclude that any point in the building is no more than 2 walls away to the

nearest antenna and thus attenuation factors can be managed. With these design rules the

attenuation from walls can safely be approximated by 10 dB of path loss. Furthermore the

reduction in distance allows a fading margin to be established at a scant 5 dB. Finally, free

space loss can be determined explicitly for the maximum distance of 72 ft (22 m).


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At 72 ft (22 m) one can see there this is 85 dB of attenuation. Since the antennas used in an

installation have approximately 3 dB of gain, then to attain the -80 dBm receive signal

strength, the signal into those antennas should be +2 dB. How one would get this output

power to the antennas is the subject of the next section.

The Antenna Location Design Rules

Perimeter antennas 20 5 ft (6 1.5 m) from the edge of the building

Antennas spaced at 100 ft (30 m) intervals

1 antenna per floor within 20 5 ft (6 1.5 m) of the elevator core

1 wall mounted omnidirectional antenna (or 2 directional antennas) every 6 floors in the

elevator shaft starting on floor 3 (unless the stairwell has no central opening so you cannot

see floor to floor, in which case antennas are required on every other floor).

For additional information regarding antenna placement, see Annex A.

Path Loss vs. Distance

Laying the Media

Once the prior design rules are understood, it becomes

easy to establish where the antennas should be located.

The antennas must be connected to a signal source

somewhere. The first leg of this connection is a

coaxial cable. The reason for this choice is one of

bandwidth. Just as the antenna is capable of passing

multiple signals and multiple services, so is coaxial cable.

To ensure a future proof design, the antennas are each

connected to their own coaxial cable and the cable is in

turn routed directly above the drop ceiling back to awiring closet. Both sides of the coax are terminated with

an N-type male connector. To limit the loss within the

coaxial cable to 10 dB, no cable run may be longer than

300 ft (90 m). The length of each cable and the location

of the antenna with which the cable is mated must be

recorded so as to make the rest of the system design

easy.

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The Coaxial Cable Routing Rules

Each antenna shall be connected by coaxial cable

The coaxial cable shall run directly from the antenna to a wiring closet not exceeding 300 ft(90 m) in length

Each end of the coax shall be terminated with an N-type male connector

Records shall be kept on the length of each cable and the location of the antenna mated to it

The Rest of the In-Building Wireles SolutionAt this point IBWS architectures tend to vary. Some will connect to passive equipment withadditional lengths of coaxial cable, while others will connect with active equipment (RemoteUnits) which will backhaul the signals over fiber. This paper is targeted at design and installationof the final leg of the IBWS and thus will not discuss the merits and faults of each system.Instead it wishes to stress that regardless of the rest of the IBWS and its frequencies, and theservices that are desired today or tomorrow, the passive infrastructure investment will be viable.

Why Design and Install the Horizontal Runs for an IBWS During Initial

Building Construction?

There are two fundamental reasons that make the installation of passive media for IBWSduring construction desirable and intelligent: Cost and Convenience.

CostPlacing cable in cable trays or above a drop ceiling before a building is completed is quick and easy.Installing electrical wiring, communication wires, or for that matter plumbing, when a building isinitially built is efficient, while adding post construction infrastructure is costly. The same applies forthe placement of coaxial cables and antennas. It is not uncommon for the cost of a major retrofit to abuilding to be so high that it is demolished and rebuilt rather than retrofitted. It is estimated that theinstallation cost post-construction for the horizontal runs of an IBWS is more than 4 times that ofpre-construction work. Furthermore the installation of a length of coaxial cable post-construction canrun 2 to 4 times greater than the cost of the coaxial cable itself. When designing the cabling in abuilding today, one often puts in more material than is needed. An office might have 2-4 times asmany electrical outlets than are used at any one time, or have 2-4 structured cabling jacks, even

though less than that are initially in use. This is good, future proof planning, and a similar strategyshould be taken with horizontal portion of an IBWS. Assuming conservatively that a single antennaand cable feed will cover approximately 5000 ft2, and that an office is approximately 10 ft x 12 ft, acubical 8 ft x 8 ft and 20% of building is common space (hallways, bathrooms, etc), then eachantenna will cover between 15 and 20 people. This same group of people will require more than 60power outlets and 30-40 structured cabling jacks and a bathroom. The cost of the vital wirelessIBWS horizontal feed communication channel pales in comparison to every other service.

ConvenienceJust as the cost increases steeply when adding new infrastructure after a building is completed,so does the disruption to the building occupants. Adding additional wiring to a warehouse isrelatively easy, as there are no ceilings to contend with and few people are disrupted. In a typicaloffice this becomes more intrusive as a drop ceiling must be removed, and people may haveto be displaced during installation. In certain structures, like airports, infrastructure must berenovated during the night so as to minimize this disturbance (which increases costs). Perhapsthe most difficult structure of all to retrofit is a hospital. Not only can it have public spaces

which can be accessed only during restricted times, but it has requirements for air quality andthus special care and equipment must be used to eliminate particulates. This takes time andslows down the installation process and thus creates an even bigger inconvenience and cost.

Summary

Most companies and individuals consider their wireless services (both commercial and publicsafety) to be indispensable. The future holds more services that will become even more criticalto everyones day-to-day life. Pre-wiring a building with broad band coaxial cable and antennasduring construction and/or installation of other structured cabling systems is a cost effective,non-disruptive, and intelligent way to plan for today and tomorrow.

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CommScopes Wired for Wireless Solution

CommScopes Wired for Wireless Solution is a carrier-neutral structured infrastructure

solution that enables mobile communications inside buildings eliminating dead zones and

spotty coverage. The Wired for Wireless Solutions unique structured design makes wireless

coverage inside buildings dramatically more affordable by simplifying installation and eliminating

the need for costly site surveys and custom network designs. The solutions design includes

coaxial cables, connectors, antennas and cable management apparatus connected together

in such a way as to provide a blanket of wireless coverage throughout an entire building.

Designed with your future in mind, the Wired for Wireless Solution will help you meet your

evolving indoor wireless needs for years to come. Backed by CommScopes 20 Year Product

Warranty when installed by a trained CommScope BusinessPartner, the Wired for Wireless

Solution has your wireless future covered.

CommScope Wired for Wireless Solution Components

High performance indoor antennas, coaxial cables, connectors, and cable management

apparatus ensure that the Wired for Wireless Solution delivers a cost and performanceoptimized platform that is ready for carrier-neutral and uniform wireless coverage in

Enterprise buildings.

CommScope Wired for Wireless Antennas

The Wired for Wireless Solution includes two multi-band indoor antennas from the Andrew

Cell-MaxTM family. Cell-MaxTM antennas feature a multiband design that allows a wide range of

frequencies to be transmitted and received by a single, small antenna. Designed for ease of

installation and minimal visual impact, these compact and unobtrusive antennas include a

built-in low loss coaxial pigtail with N-type female connectors.

Cell-MaxTM

Omnidirectional Antenna

The CELLMAX-O-CPUSE antenna is a ceiling mounted

omnidirectional indoor antenna designed for the 698 - 960MHz and 1710 - 2700 MHz frequency ranges. It supports all

modulation formats and technology including, Analog, iDEN,

GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE,

CDMA2000, EV-DO, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max and many more.

Cell-MaxTM

Directional Antenna

The CELLMAX-D-CPUSE antenna is a wall mounted

directional indoor antenna designed for the 698 - 960 MHzand 1710 - 2700 MHz frequency ranges. It supports all

modulation formats and technology including, Analog, iDEN,

GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA, HSUPA, LTE,

CDMA2000, EV-DO, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max and many more.

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CELLMAX-D-CPUSE

CELLMAX-O-CPUSE


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Wired for Wireless Cables and Connectors

CommScopes Wired for Wireless Solution includes two high performance inch 50 ohm

coaxial cables from the Andrew HELIAX cable family, and N-type male coaxial connectors

designed to match each cable. The Low Smoke Zero Halogen FXL-540-NHR and the Plenum

AL4RPV-50 cables, and their matching connectors, provide optimal options for horizontal, riser

rated and plenum applications.

FXL-540-NHR HELIAX Low Smoke Zero Halogen Cable and EZFit

540EZNMV2 Connector

FXL-540-NHR HELIAX

cable

The FXL-540-NHR cable is a flexible inch 50 ohm coaxial

cable, with a black PE jacket, a smoothwall aluminum outer

conductor, foam PE dielectric and a copper clad aluminum

inner conductor. With its light-weight and cost effectiveconstruction, the FXL-540-NHR cable is easy to install and

delivers excellent transmission performance.

EZFit

Connector for FXL-540-NHR cable

The 540EZNMV2 EZFit connector is a high performance N-type

male connector that is a perfect match for the FXL-540-NHR

cable. The 540EZNMV2 is a small and lightweight connector

designed for easy installation and optimal electrical performance.

High precision cable preparation and 540EZNMV2 connector

attachment is achieved with the 12-HPT EZFit hand prep tool or

the 540-EZPT EZFit drill prep tool.

Plenum Rated HELIAXAL4RPV-50 Cable and L4TNM-PSA Positive StopTM Connector

AL4RPV-50 HELIAX

cable

The AL4RPV-50 cable is a flexible inch 50 ohm plenum

rated coaxial cable, with an off-white PVC jacket, a

corrugated aluminum outer conductor, a PE Spline air

dielectric and a copper clad aluminum inner conductor. With

its light-weight and cost effective construction, AL4RPV-50

cable is easy to install and delivers excellent transmission

performance.

Positive StopTM

Connector for AL4RPV-50 cable

The L4TNM-PSA Positive StopTM

connector is a highperformance N-Type male connector that is the perfect

match for the ALPRV-50 cable. The L4TNM-PSA Positive

StopTM connector is a small and lightweight connector

designed for ease of installation and optimal electrical

performance. Cable preparation for L4TNM-PSA connector

attachment can be achieved with the drill-assisted EASIAX

Plus CPT-12U automated cable prep tool.

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FXL-540-NHR Heliax cable

540EZNMV2 EZFit Connector


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Wired for Wireless Wall Organizer

The Wired for Wireless Wall Organizer is designed to secure the terminated FXL-540-NHR or

AL4RPV-50 inch coaxial cables in a telecommunications room wall, and provides mountingpositions for the 2-way and/or 4-way splitters that will be required to split the active equipment

signal to the various antennas. A single Wall Organizer can secure up to eight terminated FXL-

540-NHR or AL4RPV-50 coaxial cables. Additional Wall Organizers may be installed side by

side to secure up to eight additional cables per organizer.

The Wired for Wireless Wall Organizer is a wall mounted unit

provided with eight cable holding clips at the top, and three

mounting positions for 2-way or 4-way splitters. The

organizer is a powder coated steel unit 21 high and 13

wide that is attached to the wall with four mounting screws.

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Wired for Wireless 20 Year Extended Product Warranty

Because CommScope has such high standards for performance and reliability and understands

that the right network infrastructure is essential to the successful operation of todays business

CommScope stands behind its products for 20 years. Our commitment to quality is also shared by

our extensive global network of authorized BusinessPartners. Our global footprint ensures that your

Wired for Wireless solution, when designed and installed by a CommScope BusinessPartner, will

be backed by a comprehensive 20 Year Product Warranty. CommScopes Wired for Wireless

Solution has the Enterprise covered.


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Annex A: Additional Antenna Placement Design Guidelines

The antenna placement design rules are based upon a 100 ft x 100 ft (30 m x 30 m) grid to

limit the distance between the mobile device and any antenna to a maximum of 72 ft (22 m).

The basic antenna placement design rules are:

1. Antennas shall be spaced equally on a grid.

2. Antennas shall be placed 20 5 ft (6 1.5m) from perimeter of building, except for

buildings with length or width less than 90 ft (27 m) where one antenna shall be used along

the length or width, as appropriate.

3. Antennas must be placed within 20 5 ft (6 1.5 m) of the elevator core.

4. Stairwell coverage:

a. In closed stairwells, antennas must be placed on every 2nd floor

b. In open stairwells, antennas must be placed on every 6th floor

5. In irregular shaped buildings, antennas must be placed to ensure that no mobile device

may be further than 72 ft (22 m) from an antenna.

For rectangular buildings, the following calculations will help determine the required number of

antennas and the best grid spacing for each floor.

Designing the Wired for WirelessTM

Grid: Definitions

In the grid design calculations, the following terms are used, as illustrated in Figure A1:

DW = The Distance between antennas along the buildings width

nW = The Number of antennas along the buildings width

AW = The buildings width minus 40 ft (12 m). AW is the distance between the first and last

antenna along the buildings width. We subtract 40 ft (12 m) from the buildings width

based on the rule that states that antennas shall be placed 20 5 ft (6 1.5 m) from

the perimeter of the building.

DL = The Distance between antennas along the buildings length

nL = The Number of antennas along the buildings length

AL = The buildings length minus 40 ft (12 m). AL is the distance between the first and last

antenna along the buildings length. Here again we subtract 40 ft (12 m) from the

buildings length based on the rule that states that antennas shall be placed 20 5 ft

(6 1.5 m) from the perimeter of the building.

Figure A1

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Designing the Wired for WirelessTM

Grid - Step 1: Determining the number of antennas

The first step in designing the Wired for Wireless grid is to determine the number of antennas

in each direction, with the goal to minimize the number of antennas required in each direction.

Since the calculation is essentially the same in each direction, the formula below uses x to

signify either length or width, as applicable.

The calculation in ft is nx = 1 + (Ax/100) (rounded up)

And the calculation in m is nx = 1 + (Ax/30) (rounded up)

We can then calculate the total number of antennas by multiplying nL * nW

Designing the Wired for Wireless Grid - Step 2: Determining the antenna spacing

Step 2 is to determine the antenna spacing in each direction, with the goal to equally divide

the space between antennas in each direction.

Again, since the calculation is the same in each direction, the formula uses x to signify either

length or width, as appropriate.

The calculation is Dx = Ax/(nx 1)

In words then, the antenna spacing is equal to the distance between the first and last antenna

divided by one less than the number of antennas in that direction.

Grid for a narrow building (length or with < 90 ft or 27 m)

For buildings with length or width shorter than 90 ft (27 m), a single antenna row should be

placed in the middle of the space. Figure A2 shows a narrow building with length shorter than

90 ft (27 m), with a single antenna row in the center that ensures that devices will not be

further than 72 ft (22 m) from a given antenna. The spacing between the antennas in the row is

calculated the same way as shown previously.

Figure A2

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2011 CommScope, Inc. All rights reserved.

Visit our website at www.commscope.com or

contact your local CommScope representative or

BusinessPartner for more information. All trademarksidentified by or are registered trademarks or

trademarks, respectively, of CommScope.

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