It is more and more common for first-responders, (Police/Fire/EMS), to demand reliable ubiquitous radio coverage to ensure the safety of the public, as well as their own.  In many instances poor in-building radio coverage has a negative impact on first responders ability to communicate effectively in a crisis situation.  The prevailing thought today is that “Mission-critical” coverage can no longer end at the hospital doorway, basement, or stairwell. 

In many commercial buildings there are areas of poor wireless coverage that compromise a first responders ability to communicate.  Many municipalities have passed public safety ordinances to address the problem.

Harris Communications’ DAS solutions are custom designed to improve emergency responder communication in isolated areas or in the entire building if necessary.

There are three primary approaches to achieving in-building coverage:

1) Increasing the signal level through deployment of additional antenna sites within the jurisdiction

2) Supplementing coverage in a specific building with a permanent system that boosts the signal level received from and transmitted to the outside

3) Using deployable systems which can boost coverage in a building for a specific incident scene on a temporary basis.

There are trade offs across each of these approaches and it is likely that a combination of all three will be used in any given jurisdiction.  As a company Harris Communications is able to accommodate all three primary approaches.