Posts Tagged ‘Cellular Enhancement’
About GE Capital
GE Capital, Americas is a leading provider of commercial loans and leases to mid-market businesses across diverse industries. They work closely with customers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to meet a wide variety of financing requirements.
About Courtyard by Marriott
Courtyard by Marriott is a brand of hotels owned and operated by Marriott International. The hotels are designed for and cater to business travelers. All rooms feature large desks, couches, free high speed Internet access, and filling breakfasts.
Most of its locations have full-service restaurants, and all have 24-hour “mini-marts,” for the guests convenience. It competes with other mid-priced business-oriented hotels like the Hilton Garden Inn.
The first location was built in 1985 in Atlanta and was Marriott’s first sister brand. The brand was intended to target business travelers who desired quality service at affordable prices. As the market changed and Courtyard grew, they have begun to cater to the leisure traveler as well. Most locations have a swimming pool or fitness center, mini-fridges and microwaves for rent, and offer family rates.
Marriott spent $2 billion in the mid-1980s on building out the Courtyard by Marriott chain in order to target a wider demographic. Overall, the chain is focused on accommodating guests and growing their target clientele.
About the Situation
Harris Communications was contacted by the Portland, Oregon Marriott Hotel because they lacked reliable cellular reception in the administrative and staff offices, banquet rooms as well as some hallways. In this particular case the area experiencing poor coverage was limited to one section of the hotel on the first floor. The main concern for Marriott staff is that they were not able to communicate and ensure guest satisfaction from an administrative standpoint as well as when parties and business engagements were being held in the banquet rooms. An ancillary issue was that guests were not able to use their cell phones when in those areas as well.
Nature of the Solution
We were able to design a copper solution that covered the area most in need of cellular enhancement. In this particular case, the hotel was a Green Building, which commonly attributes to poor cellular coverage. The design and installation was for a multi-carrier solution and was cost effective as it covered the pre-determined area as opposed to the hotel in it’s entirety. We were able to send our crew out to Portland and complete the installation on time, on budget and ensure the system was fully functioning prior to our departure.
Summary
The Hotel now has reliable cellular reception in the administrative offices as well as the banquet rooms. This ensures that the staff can communicate internally which will result in greater guest satisfaction. As an added bonus, groups that book events in the banquet rooms will benefit from cellular service as well. The guaranteed reception aligns with the customer service and event planning that Marriott strives to offer guests. Another success story from Harris Communications!
Harris Communications has successfully implemented a commercial cellular solution for a world wide relief organization. We were initially contacted by the organization when they were not satisfied with an existing solution at a smaller facility. The solution was not performing as promised.
We were able to walk the facility, determine why the other system was not performing and provide a superior solution that came in well under budget. As a result of that installation, the non-profit approached Harris Communications about a campus location they had that needed improved cellular reception. This solution was applied to a campus style set up and incorporated a total of eight buildings. The infrastructure is a copper solution and is composed of individual solutions for each building as opposed to one comprehensive solution. This schematic ensured that we were able to deliver the cellular reception and come in below budget by using copper as opposed to a fiber solution. Conduits were not available due to the mountainous terrain that surrounds the campus.
This was a high priority for the organization because they work in international relief efforts. In recent years, we have seen several natural disasters wipe out landlines and the most effective way to communicate is via cell phone. Haiti in particular was the impetus behind the organization seeking out a solution despite the ineffective solution they had purchased prior to working with Harris Communications. It is imperative to have good in-building coverage to reach people at all times and in any place in the facility. We provided a solution that enhanced Verizon and AT&T cellular signals.
Harris Communications is able to provide single and multiple building solutions. We work closely with clients to find a solution that is the best fit for their needs and budget. In many instances there are fiber infrastructures already in place that we can attach our system to. In other cases it is more cost effective to implement a copper solution. Contact us today to learn more about how we can assist you.
How Do you Find Your Providers Closest Tower?
- Your cell phone service provider’s tower is not likely to be the one you see every day next to the 7/11. The big service providers, like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and TMobile do not share towers with one another, except in uncommon circumstances.
Spotty Cell Reception in Charlotte, NC
This is not a surprise to Harris Communications! We hear about the spotty reception and dropped calls that plague our peers and friends throughout Charlotte.
The problem is troublesome enough that it made it’s way into the Charlotte Observer.
How much of my office will the cellular repeater cover?
A lot of people contact our office with this question. It is possible to provide an answer after we get some basic information. There are a few variables that impact every situation.
Harris Communications recently completed the 2nd and final phase of the commercial cellular project for the Van Andel Cancer Institute. This facility’s 2nd phase is a Leed Certified building and we extended our 1st phase multi-carrier distributed antenna system (DAS) into it adding Nextel in addition to providing in-building coverage with Verizon and AT&T.
VAN ANDEL CANCER RESEARCH INSTITUTE
We completed a commercial cellular repeater solution for The Van Andel Institute (VAI). Founded in 1996, the vision was an institute that would have an impact world-wide in enriching and enhancing lives through biomedical research and education.
This is a question that comes up fairly frequently when we conduct site surveys and speak with clients over the course of the project. The simple answer is yes. How many depends on many of the variables used in determining the coverage area of a system with a single inside antenna. We generally assess what you are trying to achieve and take the size of your facility and solution into account before estimating the number of antennas.
The indoor antennas are low profile and can be installed with minimal disturbance to your facility. In many cases it is necessary to conduct a site survey and ensure that there is ample space to install antennas.
Contact us today to learn more about our products and services!