In recent years, wireless carriers have moved away from providing distributed antenna systems (DAS), leaving building owners to find their own suppliers and integrators for the technology.
“Enterprises are starting to realize they must fund their own infrastructure if they want to achieve the high-quality, high-density solutions their user bases are demanding,” says Jeff Reale, director of enterprise and carrier solutions for DAS integrator Intenna Systems.
Intenna Systems draws from its deep industry experience to offer its customers effective systems that more than meet modern standards.
“Our more than two decades of experience and success in a complex and constantly changing landscape demonstrates the ongoing commitment that we have to remain a well-valued asset to our customers and partners,” Reale says. “This commitment, along with diligent and methodical execution, creates the circumstances for successful outcomes on the projects we support.
“We have refined and adapted our processes over the years in order to deliver maximum value at a competitive price point while always keeping the health of our long-term relationships at the forefront of our business model,” he adds.
Since its founding in 1998, Intenna Systems has engineered more than 3,500 small cell and DAS systems totaling more than 350 million square feet. The company offers consulting, design, implementation, maintenance and monitoring services and serves the commercial real estate, education, government, healthcare, public venue and hospitality markets.
Intenna Systems’ customers include each of the four major wireless service providers in the United States as well as the U.S. Government, major property management firms and individual enterprise clients.
The company specializes in digital DAS solutions. “Digital DAS is the most recent development in providing cellular coverage solutions,” Intenna Systems Owner Christopher Lange says. “Digital DAS provided a much more flexible, scalable and customizable solution to meet our clients’ immediate needs while remaining adaptable to the ever-changing needs of wireless operators.”
The Hotel at the University of Maryland Project
Intenna Systems’ recent successful installations include adding a DAS solution to The Hotel at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md. The 12-story, 519,000-square-foot hotel features 297 guest rooms and suites as well as a spa, a grand lobby, a fitness center, a business center and indoor pool. The hotel was designed to LEED Gold standards.
The company began consulting on the hotel project in late 2014. During the first half of 2015, Intenna Systems delivered several design options as the physical and technical requirements of the project changed.
Construction of the hotel began in 2015, and DAS installation work took place in phases throughout the project until its completion in 2017. A local crew hired by the general contractor installed cabling. The crew was guided and supported by an Intenna Systems construction manager and project manager.
Intenna Systems staff installed all connectors and antennas, while company field engineers performed commissioning. The DAS was fully installed before the hotel opened and covers 100 percent of its interior space.
The system uses the Corning Optical Network Evolution (ONE™) Mid-Power Remote Unit (MRU). “[Owner] Southern Management Corp. chose the Corning ONE DAS product because of Corning’s exceptional reputation in the industry and the product line’s modular and flexible approach to managing the technologies of today while preparing for the technologies of tomorrow,” Reale says.
Sprint and Verizon were commissioned onto the system in 2017, and AT&T and T-Mobile were added in 2018, Intenna Systems notes.
The company continues to monitor and manage the DAS on Southern Management’s behalf. Intenna Systems previously completed DAS networks for the owner at a luxury apartment building in Maryland and a ski resort, hotel and conference center in Pennsylvania.
Southern Management is one of the largest privately owned residential property management companies in the Baltimore-Washington area, where it owns and manages more than 25,000 apartments.
The Next Generation
Intenna Systems continues to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to DAS and small cell technologies. The company wants to retain this edge by partnering with companies that are involved in the intersection of technology and real estate.
“As 4G begins to transition to 5G and beyond, Intenna will continue to play a crucial role in designing, deploying and maintaining the best wireless coverage and capacity solutions available to meet the needs of our clients and partners,” Reale says.
“The next generation of technology and applications will create exciting new environments and opportunities, and it will also create significant challenges that affect today’s networks,” he adds. “Intenna will provide the consulting and guidance to evolve existing solutions and deploy new solutions to meet the changing demands of the marketplace.”
