ATLANTA (January 19, 2006) ? MetroPCS, Atlanta's only wireless service provider offering unlimited, anytime local and nationwide long distance calls with no contract, announced today that it has joined Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in its Distributed Antenna System (DAS) initiative that will provide enhanced in-building wireless service to customers and employees.
The DAS is an optical-fiber based system which enables the distribution of wireless signals to remote locations that are located at large distances, thus improving in-building cellular connectivity. Customers, employees and visitors to Hartsfield-Jackson will now have access to ubiquitous wireless coverage for all the cellular, PCS and Public Safety radio services throughout the entire airport. This includes coverage even in problematic areas such as the underground train tunnel and pedestrian mall.
?Contributing to the DAS initiative and participating in its rollout was a natural choice for MetroPCS,? said Al Loverde, vice president and general manager, MetroPCS Atlanta Operations. ?Many of Hartsfield-Jackson's visitors and 50,000-plus employees are MetroPCS customers. We are proud to contribute to technology that will enrich the cellular user experience and improve the connectivity of public safety and emergency medical teams.?
The DAS project is a component of Hartsfield-Jackson's overall Wireless Implementation Project, which includes an airport-wide WiFi system. The system, one of the largest of its kind in North America, consists of 700-plus antennas located throughout the airport covering more than 5.8 million square feet of in-building area. MetroPCS, in conjunction with other Atlanta cellular carriers, contributed to the $2.7M cost associated with building the DAS system.
?We are extremely pleased to have MetroPCS as a partner on this groundbreaking project. Many of our passengers and airport employees who are MetroPCS customers will now benefit from full coverage and excellent signal strength throughout the entire building,? said Lance Lyttle, Hartsfield-Jackson's chief information officer.
The DAS is a ?Neutral Host? system, which enables multiple cellular carriers to use a common infrastructure to provide service to all customers, regardless of what type of network they operate from. The DAS is designed to accommodate present and future wireless standards and protocols, and supports the legacy wireless protocols as well as the 3G and next generation wireless technologies. Operations and maintenance will be supported via Hartsfield-Jackson's Network Operations Center and SITA. For more information on Hartsfield-Jackson's Wireless Implementation Project, visit atlantaairport.com.
