Who's Who in In-building Wireless
Connecting state and local government leaders
IT analyst firm Gartner Inc. of Stamford, Conn., predicts the market for in-building wireless systems will hit $1 billion in 2010, doubling from $500 million in annual sales today.
IT analyst firm Gartner Inc. of Stamford, Conn., predicts the market for in-building wireless systems will hit $1 billion in 2010, doubling from $500 million in annual sales today. Prominent vendors in this space include:
Andrew Corp., Orland Park, Ill. Communication hardware builder Andrew offers an array of in-building equipment, including radiating coaxial cable, antennas, connectors, splitters and couplers. The company also offers the Britecell Fiber Distributed Antenna System, a low-cost, single-mode fiber-based distributed antenna system.
www.andrew.com.
EMS Technologies Inc. , Atlanta. EMS is one of the largest manufacturers of antennas and other communications equipment. The company's EMS Wireless division builds radio frequency products as well as offering complete in-building installation systems. Government customers include the Library of Congress.
www.emswireless.com.
In Building Wireless Inc., Silver Spring, Md. In Building Wireless is an integrator focusing on wireless installations, either for wireless data networks or for point-to-point or converged in-building solutions. In Building has installed systems for the Energy and Agriculture departments.
in-building-wirless.com.
InnerWireless Inc., Richardson, Texas. InnerWireless focuses on installing in-building wireless systems. It covers buildings in 500,000-square-foot increments, using only passive (not repeater-based) technologies. The National Institutes of Health used an InnerWireless system to provide coverage for its newly erected Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center in Bethesda, Md.
www.innerwireless.com.
LGC Wireless Inc., San Jose, Calif. LGC's in-building offering, InterReach Unison, features three components: a main hub for connecting to base stations or repeaters, an extension hub that converts fiber optic signals into radio frequency signals and a remote access unit for sending signals to handheld units.
The company also includes InterReach Unison Accel, a WiFi-capable system for smaller implementations, and InterReach Unison Smartsource, an in-building repeater for extending coverage. LGC's products are used by the FBI, the Justice Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Communications Commission and the Patent and Trademark Office.
www.lgcwireless.com.
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, N.J. Lucent Worldwide Services division offers in-building integration services as a managed service. Lucent can work with a wide range of protocols, including Code Division Multiple Access, Wideband-CDMA and CDMA2000; Time Division Multiple Access; Global System for Mobile Communication and the related General Packet Radio Service; Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service; WiFi; and Integrated Digital Enhanced Network. Lucent uses equipment from other in-building wireless vendors as well as its own Flexent Modular Cell base station.
www.lucent.com/solutions/in-building.html.
MobileAccess Inc., Vienna, Va. Equipment manufacturer MobileAccess offers a variety of in-building components, including in-building hubs, radio interface units, base units and point-to-point appliances that work with both cellular carriers and WiFi networks. The U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives are in the midst of deploying in-building coverage using MobileAccess equipment [see Wireless Promising Practices, page TBD]. www.mobileaccess.com.
Powerwave Technologies Inc. , Santa Ana, Calif. Wireless system provider Powerwave features a line of what it calls coverage systems, which include both in-building offerings and outdoor systems (urban areas, sports arenas, road tunnels and railways). The company offers a full range of services, including site survey, system design, site engineering, installation and maintenance. The Fayetteville, N.C., Cumberland County Detention Center used Powerwave to supply 800 MHz in-building land radio coverage for its facilities.
www.powerwave.com.
Radio Frequency Systems, Hannover, Germany. RFS manufactures radiating cable and antenna systems and radio frequency conditioning modules, such as filters and amplifiers. The company also offers complete wireless distributed communication systems for in-building use. Customers include integrators, original equipment manufacturers and carriers, as well as end users. RFS supplied radiating cable to provide operator and first responder coverage in the tunnels of the Washington Metro subway system.
www.rfsworld.com.
Wireless Valley Communications Inc. , Austin, Texas. Wireless Valley's EnterprisePlanner allows organizations and integrators to map out the radio frequency characteristics of their facilities. Another product, RFManager, monitors and manages wireless network activity. www.wirelessvalley.com.
'Joab Jackson
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