The wireless world might be fast-paced but it is also A LOT OF FUN and let’s be honest, nothing is more gratifying that to know that your technology can have a significant impact in the way people interact in their everyday life.

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In February last year, iBwave’s software tools were selected by AT&T to enhance the network capacity at Chicago’s Historic Navy Pier®. Since then, an impressive 8.9 MILLION VISITORS(Chicagoans of course, but also tourists from around the world) have enjoyed a great customer experience there, be it texting while waiting in line for the 15-story tall Ferris wheel, using their smartphones to purchase IMAX® movie tickets or simply calling from the parking garage. Now, I’d say that is a SERIOUSLY FUN way to stay connected and share your experience with your friends and family!

NOW, FAST FORWARD TO TODAY:

As part of our latest in-building seminar which drew close to 60 wireless professionals, we once again had another great success story, about another engaging customer experience at another Chicago landmark, to share.

Our friends from Extenet were indeed on hand to present their case study on DAS deployment at one of the largest science museums in the world: Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry (MSI)!

Mike Alt, Director of RF Engineering, spent some time to talk about the project scope and requirements as well as the challenges that arose, particularly in terms of antenna placements – as aesthetics, museum exhibit areas and cable pathways were obviously major considerations. To illustrate his points further, Mike shared the comprehensive network layouts and predictions that were carried out during the planning and design process to accurately assess the capacity and coverage for each level.

But there again, the goal was ultimately to deliver a SUPERIOR MOBILE EXPERIENCE!

The 610,000 square-foot MSI typically hosts 1.4 million guests per year

SO, WHAT’S NEXT?

Well, if DAS systems were certainly a hot topic of discussion during our seminar, Small Cells were also prominently featured throughout the day, and our team (Dan Zych, Debra Mercier and Mekki Bennis from the U.S region but also Benoit Fleury from iBwave corporate HQ in Montreal) used the opportunity to discuss the new technologies and tools that have brought about a PARADIGM SHIFT in the in-building industry.

And what better way to do that than to use recent case studies that have been conducted with U.S tier-1 operators and which have clearly demonstrated the benefits of our award-winning mobile app which translates into faster turn-around times (60% faster than traditional methods) and significant cost savings!

“It’s about involving your field personnel and empowering them to take design decisions”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: As this tied in very well with the Hetnet Expo program, iBwave received a lot of media coverage during the event. Mekki was indeed interviewed by Urgent Communications who released this neat iBwave Mobile Planner demo video. As for RCR Wireless, they issued a great article entitled “Top skill sets for DAS engineers” –with cool testimonials from CommScope, ADRF as well as JMA Wireless – that addresses the specific need for training and certification programs.

To conclude the day, we thought that it would be interesting to advance the dialogue and get the pulse on what’s really happening with Small Cells and network deployments in general.

We therefore invited major industry players (Calvin Fu from AT&T, Asad Vaince from Boingo, Curt Klausen from Fullerton Engineering, Joseph Kurdas from Sprint and John Wierzgac from WZC Networking) to participate in a rapid-fire session so that they could share their insights and experiences with other participants.

This proved extremely successful, providing an opportunity for a well-rounded discussion that continued well past the seminar and during our networking cocktail.

So, today, we’d like to take some time to thank all those of you who attended our event. It’s always a pleasure to be able to catch up with you and as mentioned earlier…

“The wireless world might be fast-paced but it is also A LOT OF FUN. We @ iBwave love working with you all!