Meet iBwave Public Safety

While we have always been in the business of providing software to design Public Safety networks, it’s always been within the context of using our iBwave Design software – you know, the one that designs every wireless network under the sun.

But over the last couple of years, we started to notice an increase in interest in the design of public safety networks, and all you have to do is think about large emergency situations, think about the amount of data traffic – videos, voice, audio, and otherwise – flowing through the public safety networks between all first responder teams, and see why they are so important.

Simply put, without a well-designed public safety network, it can be extremely difficult for first responders to communicate vital information to and from each other. And when the ability to communicate in an emergency situation is compromised, so are people’s lives.

So Why Use this Software to Design your Public Safety Networks?

Some of you already familiar with iBwave might be wondering what’s different about this particular software – and the answer is pretty simple: it is targeted at those who are only designing public safety networks. And while you can still design public safety networks using iBwave Design, and all features in this software will be in that one – for those who only design public safety networks, this would be the best software for them to use.

Let’s talk about the specific public safety features we’ve added into this software, as well as iBwave Design.

Critical/General Zone Identification

In public safety certain guidelines need to be adhered to – in particular, you need to have -95dBM in 90% of ‘General’ area, and ‘Critical’ areas need to be -95 dBM as well, but 99%. With the new iBwave Public Safety software, you can identify both the ‘General and ‘Critical’ zones within your design and set the different compliance requirements for each area.

So for example, in the below – the ‘General’ area has been defined as well as select ‘Critical’ areas (equipment room, lobby, emergency exit, etc). Once that is done, you can right click on the area and select ‘Compliance Area Properties’ and then set your requirements for each area : General -95 dBm, 95% and Critical -95dBm, 99%. Then when you run your prediction, your compliance in each of the areas will show.

Here’s a short video of setting the different areas with different requirements. To do it you just select either one area, or all the same areas, right click and set up the compliance criteria. Then when you run your prediction, you will see the compliance labels telling you how they will perform.

Donor Isolation

A common challenge is feedback because you don’t have enough isolation between your donor and serving antennas – the donor antenna often picks up the signal of its own DAS network almost as clearly as the macro signal, which causes a feedback loop and renders the network unusable. A big problem when designing public safety networks.

To know things will work as they need to, guidelines are in place that stipulate you need -20 dB of isolation between donor and server antennas. To help with this, we’ve added this new ‘Donor Isolation’ feature which will calculate and show you the isolation dB and whether it meets the criteria of -20.

Here’s a short video showing you this. In it, I just go over to the predictions area and select ‘Donor Isolation’ – from there I can validate my design, and it will give me a result. As you can see the result shows -17.41 dB, which does not meet the -20 dB guideline and therefore it’s a fail. In this case, you would know you would need to adjust your design, and re-validate until you get a pass. Unfortunately, the feature to print a smiley face sticker out when successful didn’t make it into this version.

What’s Next for iBwave Public Safety?

The new iBwave Public Safety software is a great start, but it’s just that – only the start of what we intend to be a long roadtrip along the public safety highway. We’ve got a roadmap, we’ve got a development team, and we’ve got great customers to give us the right input to keep improving.

Interested in Learning More?

You can read all about iBwave Public Safety by heading over to the product page, found here. From there you can take a look at the datasheet, watch a demo video of it in action, and reach out to our team with any specific questions you may have.

Wirelessly yours,

Kelly

Designing Public Safety Networks with iBwave

iBwave is well known in the in-building DAS and WiFi network design space, but did you know that we’re also the leaders in in-building design for public safety networks?

In this post, we’re going to go into detail on designing public safety networks, how they’re different than traditional network designs, and how iBwave provides solutions for each stage of the PS design life cycle.

What is a Public Safety Network?

Public safety networks are specialized communication systems used in the event of emergencies. They’re a necessity for communication between first responders, fire fighters, and emergency workers. And, perhaps most importantly, they’re a legal requirement in many countries around the world.

In an emergency, having a working, optimized public safety network has the potential to save lives.

At present, there’s no centralized federal entity that regulates building codes for public safety network requirements. But there are several not-for-profit organizations setting a benchmark for municipalities to use as a guideline for designing public safety networks. The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) and International Fire Code (IFC) are two of the more influential of these entities and have in recent years become the standard for defining optimal public safety network deployment.

How is designing a Public Safety DAS different than that of a Cellular DAS?

Unlike traditional Cellular DAS designs, public safety networks require access in infrequently used areas. Elevators, fire escapes, fire pump rooms, and emergency exits all require public safety network access, as these are the areas that first responders communicate from in the event of a crisis.

Public safety networks also require specialized equipment (i.e. heat resistant cables, backup generators, etc.) that aren’t as readily available as traditional cellular DAS infrastructure. This means longer lead times and potential delays in network planning and deployment.

As mentioned above, in-building public safety networks typically adhere to guidelines outlined by the NFPA and IFC. Here are some of the most important protocols as defined by the two organizations:

Equipment Enclosures: The NFPA and IFC specify that all equipment supporting the public safety network must be housed in NEMA-4 compliant enclosures.
Signal Strength: The NFPA and IFC stipulate a minimum signal strength of -95 dBm to meet acceptable signal strength standards.
Battery Backup: Equipment that supports the public safety system must be able to function for 24 hours on a backup battery.
Fire Ratings: Cables connecting public safety electronic equipment must meet a two-hour fire rating.

How does iBwave help design public safety networks?

As the leaders in in-building wireless design, we’ve had a lot of experience finding the best ways to plan and deploy public safety networks that adhere to the NFPA and IFC standards. We’re in regular communication with the Safer Buildings Coalition and system integrators to ensure network designs meet the requirements of these organizations.

iBwave software solutions have built-in tools for each part of the design life cycle – from initial RF design to final acceptance testing. If your building requires public safety network access, you can be assured that your network design meets NFPA and IFC standards.

For instance, iBwave allows specific rooms in a floor plan to be designated as “critical.” This makes it easier for stakeholders to identify areas (i.e. emergency exit, control room, equipment room, etc.) of the design that will require special attention.

The software also allows you to display compliancy standards on output maps, so you can regularly monitor whether your network design is meeting these guidelines.

While NFPA and IFC standards are implemented directly into the software, there’s also an option to set custom compliancy requirements should your building or municipality require specialized design.

The compliancy report function will generate an easy to read document outlining whether your network design is compliant with the specifications you provide. This is an invaluable report for authorities with jurisdiction to approve or reject network designs based on public safety compliancy.

With a growing demand for in-building access to public safety networks, iBwave software is well equipped to handle future requirements and standards that may become the norm for network design. Our equipment database is constantly growing and includes many materials designed specifically for public safety networks. And with regular software updates, iBwave solutions are also well-equipped to handle any future toolkits that might be mandated for public safety.

These are just a few reasons why iBwave are the leaders in public safety network design.

For more information about designing public safety networks, check out the webinar we held with the Safer Buildings Coalition and C2 Systems or read about our software by visiting the public safety page on our website.

Thanks for reading!

Connecting the Corporate HQ – CASE STUDY

A business campus is the home away from home to millions of busy professionals around the world who increasingly demand constant and seamless connectivity.

Emails, video conference calls, and heavy downloads are just some of the actions that business people do on their mobile phones daily. Strong, reliable and fast wireless connectivity is no longer a nice to have at the workplace – it is a MUST.

But designing the wireless network for business campuses presents unique challenges, including:

High residual macro interference at higher floors from macro signal;
Containment of the indoor signal;
Overlapping in-building coverage for buildings in close proximity;
Multi-level 3D building modeling;
Quality coverage and seamless handoff for stairwells and elevator shafts.

This case study goes over the detailed challenges and considerations when designing a DAS for a business campus, while taking into account 4G network performance requirements.

Download the white paper >

View the slides >