Archive for December, 2011
by Pete Esposito
By anticipating future growth and planning for wireless communications that grow with the organization, businesses can save money and ensure hassle-free upgrading that keeps pace with expansion.
In 2009, Harris Communications installed wireless communications equipment for Riot Games, the creative company that produces League of Legends online gaming, to ensure clear cell phone reception inside their office buildings. The California-based video game developer has seen rapid growth, doubling its game community in the last four months. Thanks to our advance planning, their wireless communications are growing with them.
League of Legends has 32.5 million players registered, with 11.5 million monthly players. Their competitive League play offers a Season Two total prize pool of $5,000,000. Tournament play is broadcast as eSports over the web.
An increased investment in Riot Games this year by Tencent Holdings, its international publishing partner, has fueled their growth. Now expanding the product with Tencent, Riot Games currently has over 150 job openings, from artists and designers to analysts and engineers. The new staff needs cellular connectivity.
The growth plan we designed for Riot Games in 2009 included a custom wireless communications growth plan, starting with a wireless site survey to determine both current state needs and future needs should the organization expand into additional portions of the office building. We then installed scalable equipment capable of handling current and future loads, and ensured that the network of antennas could be efficiently expanded throughout the building as needed.
To replicate cell signals through an office or other commercial space, an installation requires at least one exterior antenna, one BDA (bi-directional antenna), and multiple smaller antennas to send and receive the cellular signal throughout the space. The BDA is the most expensive component, and cabling to connect the components is another large expenditure.
By choosing robust equipment and planning an efficient cabling blueprint, Harris Communications saved Riot Games the trouble and expense of replacing equipment each time they expand. Resale value for BDAs and other expensive components diminishes enormously after purchase, making replacement a very expensive option. Plus, a poorly planned cabling blueprint can lead to unnecessary and expensive re-routing projects with each expansion. So although the initial purchase price was slightly higher than it might have been, we saved Riot Games significant cost and trouble over the long term.
This past Monday, we headed out to California to assist Riot Games in their next expansion, and ensure that their new staff base receives the same high quality clear cell signal throughout the office building. All we had to do is run wires and add antennas, with no major equipment upgrades necessary.
In short, expanding on a system already purchased provides cost-effective and hassle-free upgrading, if the initial system is designed for scalability. Like Riot Games, Harris Communications knows how to equip champions for success.
by Jim McEwen
Lives are saved every day by the quick response of emergency teams. It’s amazing and gratifying to hear of students saved by effective college notification systems, whether it’s a child whose heart is quickly restarted by a nearby defibrillator and faculty trained to use it, or students and faculty successfully evacuated from buildings in the case of fire, terrorist attacks, or natural disaster.
Colleges, universities, and schools of every level seek to protect their students from dangers, and provide safety procedures for the unexpected. In the instance of a gunman that was spotted with an AK-47 at the University of Texas, security officers notified everyone on campus with text messages, loudspeakers, sirens, and an online posting. Thanks to up-to-date communication systems, security teams caught up with the man before anyone could be hurt, although he did take his own life. Immediate response may have saved many students.
What if people on campus had not heard the sirens, and were in an area of a building that did not get a clear cellular signal? What if staff needed a defibrillator to save a life, but they couldn’t locate it and the appropriate staff quickly enough? With a clear cell signal, and fully functioning wi-fi, they could send messages for help, and receive vital alerts and instructions.
Clearly, when there’s a problem on campus, wireless communications capability inside buildings is critical. However, those ivy-covered brick walls of old, solid buildings often don’t allow signals in, creating areas with little or no cellular reception. Newer, green buildings block cellular reception with low-emissivity windows and aluminum-clad insulation.
Furthermore, cellular carriers are now using 3G and 4G frequencies that carry higher data transmission on larger bandwidths. The higher frequencies allow carriers to serve more customers in populated places, but they don’t penetrate buildings as well as lower signals.
Harris Communications can make cell phones work in all these buildings, with all these frequencies, so that officers and campus officials can email or text all students right away. Security staff can tap a database to send an alert of the situation and issue life-saving instructions.
Carrier-neutral installation by Harris Communications ensures that each cell provider gets equal coverage inside college, university, business parks, medical, municipality, and government campuses. In addition, we represent and mediate as your advocate with all the cellular carrier networks to develop a network without frequency feedback, providing efficient service.
Harris Communications builds a college campus DAS, or distributive antenna solution, that provides wireless service to every area of its buildings. This network is customized using active repeaters, splitters and feeders for multi-building campuses, and optimized for each building type to get the same dependable signal.
The result is cellular and wi-fi access enabled all over the campus: where calls for help are sent, warning messages are heard, student safety is improved, and lives are saved.