Over the last year, the NET CS team have successfully swapped over 100 poles for our clients, this time-lapse video shows the work that is involved in just 1! – Watch it below.
Well done to all involved.
This is one of the many services we offer which include Mobile Network Solutions for your business and buildings and Mobile Phone Operators Solutions for MNO’s.
NET CS is thrilled to announce the release of a short promotional film designed to promote to all 20,000 parishes throughout the Church of England and Church in Wales. This video references the advantages of the Code compliant agreement agreed with Vodafone and Telefonica O2 late last year.
The devastating impact of Covid-19 has reinforced why a high quality communication network is so important. This is why each church hosting mobile phone radio equipment will be providing a critical service to their local community, and the long-term income they will be paid will help each church to fulfil its wider local community mission, improving the sustainability of both the community and of its parish church.
For more information on our work with Church of England and Church in Wales please contact us.
Given the unprecedented situation regarding COVID-19 the team here at NET CS wish to assure all of our customers, employees and partners that we are taking all reasonable steps required to keep servicing our client community and will continue to carry out all surveys, installations and support visits moving forward.
We are continuing to follow official guidance from the government and health authorities. The well-being of our customers, employees and suppliers is of the greatest importance to us and we will continue to ensure that our policies and procedures reflect the best available information from the authorities whilst supporting all of our customers and staff alike.
Across the UK communities are facing unprecedented disruption and uncertainty, in particular around the availability of goods and services alike. Whilst there are nationwide difficulties with establishing supply chains we will endeavour to proceed as normal for as long as we can.
NET CS are committed to remaining open for as long as it is safe to do so and will adhere to the Government recommendations as they are released.
Thank you for your continuing support and please continue to stay safe and healthy.
It’s a known fact that digital connectivity significantly increases the productivity of any business and its growth potential. With a growing reliance on mobile technology and connectivity in general, having poor indoor mobile phone coverage can be a limiting factor of productivity for any enterprise business. Distribution centres and warehouses, which are typically constructed with a steel frame, metal roof, minimal windows and external obstacles can have a significant impact on mobile phone signals penetrating inside the building.
This all too common issue was experienced when NET Coverage Solutions were asked to help when a popular e-commerce giant renovated its two-story warehouse and distribution facility spread across an area of about 40,000 sq ft. The impenetrable building materials were blocking the mobile phone signals from reaching the warehouse space and ground-floor offices. The enterprise customer needed to secure indoor 3G/4G coverage prior to becoming fully operational to support general communication of management team and staff.
A major brand-name, e-commerce giant who was renovating their more-than 40,000 square foot distribution center located in the UK, needed to address their poor mobile phone coverage to modernize the facility. Like many other distribution centers, the building was constructed primarily with metal, steel I-beams, and impenetrable cladding on the outside. Combined with a metal roof, a minimal number of windows located in the few existing offices, and a property largely obstructed by trees, bringing a mobile phone signal indoors had been next to impossible.
The company initially contacted its mobile network operator for an in-building mobile phone coverage solution. The operator contacted their partner integrator NET Coverage Solutions to evaluate the situation. After careful consideration, NET Coverage Solutions decided to select Cel-Fi QUATRA, an active DAS hybrid solution that can be automatically configured and managed using the Cel-Fi WAVE cloud-based management platform.
NET Coverage Solutions initially went to the facility to perform a site survey, and determine how much equipment was needed and assess the radio wave characteristics within the building environment. There were obstacles discovered both inside and outside of the building that would have to be considered. A site design was made, with the Cel-Fi QUATRA configuration of 2 Network Units (NUs) and 7 Coverage Units (CUs) with a MIMO Antenna was needed.
The two NUs that are at the headend of a QUATRA system receive mobile phone signals via coaxial cable that runs to a MIMO antenna affixed to the outside of the warehouse. This donor antenna was located at the southeast side of the building—one of the few areas not obstructed by large trees. The donor antenna was attached to a pole that was just under three meters high, clearing the roof line and increasing the line of sight to the nearest mobile phone tower.
NUs are connected with Cat 5e cable to remote internal antennas (called Coverage Units or CUs). Four CUs were conveniently placed in the mostly open, ground-floor space which also houses a few offices and meeting rooms; while the large, open warehouse with low-level equipment and storage was outfitted with three CUs. Because Cel-Fi QUATRA leverages Power-over-Ethernet, no additional power outlets were required, enabling optimum CU placement wherever signal was required.
The Cel-Fi QUATRA system was installed and commissioned using the Cel-Fi WAVE portal authentication and activation system. The installation was further optimised with antenna pointing tools available in the Cel-Fi WAVE App, and the ready reading and optimisation of SINR, RSRP, and RSRQ. After successful install, Remote Access was available to manage and provide updates.
Immediately following installation, the e-commerce giant experienced clear and reliable mobile phone connections inside their offices, operations area, and warehouse. NET Coverage Solutions Director Dave Stephens stated, “Cel-Fi QUATRA is exactly the type of solution the market has needed. Safe for the operator, economical, and revolutionary simple way to deploy; bringing IT level ease-of-use interfaces to the RF industry. The expectation is that providing mobile phone coverage shouldn’t be any more complicated than Wi-Fi, and Nextivity has accomplished that illusion by its innovative design and simplified user interfaces.”
The availability of mobile phones in the UK is of common knowledge, and we have a growing need to stay connected to the internet, whether we be at home, at work, or on the move. Our dependency and use of mobile phones vary by demographic.
More than 95% of UK households own a mobile phone, which is somewhat surprising when compared with the turn of the century, when less than half of all households in the UK reported to owning a mobile phone. 17% of people owned a smartphone a decade ago, which has increased to 78% now, and 95% among 16-24-year olds.
Research shows circa 80% of mobile phone usage is consumed indoors, and it’s common knowledge that nearly one-third of mobile users suffer poor or no indoor reception at home. According to a recent survey, one in five mobile calls made at home are patchy – where the audio cuts in and out, while one in six are prone to cutting out completely.
Rural residents suffer significantly with poor mobile coverage, and it’s estimated only 41% of rural properties receive what can be viewed as ‘good’ mobile coverage, and in some areas, there is no coverage at all.
Similarly effected residents are those within large residential developments, where the propagation of mobile phone signals into, out of and through the building are impeded by modern construction materials, such as brick, steel, metallised double glazing and foil-backed plasterboard, to name a few. This is known as ‘building loss’, and different materials will exhibit different levels of building loss at different frequencies. The problem will be exacerbated as Mobile Network Operators make use of higher frequencies at part of the 5G network roll out.
Organisations, such as ours, work with private residents and the property sector to create robust solutions to improve the mobile coverage in residential buildings.
Just as no two buildings are the same, no two solutions are the same, and careful consideration needs to be applied throughout the design and installation phase ensuring the most appropriate technologies are deployed to improve mobile phone signal.
This can include:
Also known as repeaters, signal boosters amplify the available signal. A booster takes the weak mobile signal and amplifies it up to 32 times, rebroadcasting the new stronger signal across the residential building. Buy our selection of plug and play mobile phone signal boosters.
Small cells are essentially low powered wireless access points, providing cellular and Wi-Fi services. Small cells provide discrete coverage and can be deployed alone or as a network of cells.
DAS stands for Distributed Antenna System and is a point-to-multipoint solution, meaning multiple mobile phone networks are supported. DAS creates a single large cell, improving mobile coverage throughout the residential building, from one solution, regardless of the end user’s network.
Whatever the solution, there’s no question that property owners must get this right. In a recent questionnaire, nearly half of respondents said they ‘would reconsider renting or buying a house if they knew the mobile coverage would be poor’
Why not book a FREE desktop analysis. We will provide indicative costings for the most appropriate solution for your building. Email enquiries@netcs.co.uk or call 01276 854440.
NET CS is very proud to be a party to the consensual deal agreed between the Church of England and Cornerstone; under the terms of this agreement, NET CS working with the Church of England, Cornerstone, Vodafone, Telefónica O2 and individual Parishes, are thrilled about the prospects of delivering improved cellular connectivity across England and Wales.
Read more here Church agrees deal with Conerstone NETCS
Peter Morrell-Brown, Chairman, NET Coverage Solutions
Our Sales and Business Development Director, Dave Stephens, has been speaking with Land Mobile about how buildings need to have connectivity, NET CS have understood this for a long time. Acknowledging this as the fourth utility is taking the first steps needed to bring connectivity and it’s benefits to all.
“As 5G throughput can be far greater than Wi-Fi, you can almost see 5G eventually replacing Wi-Fi. It’s an exciting time for in-building”
Read more Landmobile.co.uk – Indoor Connectivity: The Fourth Utility
NETCS were invited by Vodafone to provide a stand at their Networks Supplier Exhibition at the Vodafone HQ in Newbury. NETCS were one of 24 partners who had an exhibition stand on the day.
NETCS presented information on our new Rural Coverage proposals, details on our Managed Service offerings as well as the BAU works that we complete for Vodafone.
A relaxation in licensing laws for the use of mobile signal boosters means all UK locations and buildings can get quality internal mobile coverage for reliable, always on connectivity.
Here’s why – BM Magazine – All hail mobile signal boosters
If you would like further information about NET CS and the services we offer, please either:
Contact us on +44(0) 1276 854440
Email us at enquiries@netcs.co.uk
NET Coverage Solutions Ltd
Craven Court
Stanhope Road
Camberley
Surrey
GU15 3BS
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