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The new, architecturally designed, impressive building of College Remoulin in France was completed in Jan 2022, opening its doors to welcome 720 new students. With an overall area of 5580m2, it is an expansive campus, comprising several buildings, including a reception area, administrative premises, a staff room, an infirmary, a kitchen, a large canteen and 2000m2 of classrooms.
The college, which won 3 prestigious awards for its design, is built on stilts and uses highly insulated ecological materials, solar panels and solar protection (steel mesh). However, on completion it was found that these highly insulating materials and concrete walls blocked all mobile signal from entering the building.
The Challenge
Students and staff expect such a modern, prize winning building to have the latest and greatest technology. Excellent communications in the college are required to handle the high data usage from the students and staff, as well as the very basic need to be able to use their mobile phones inside the building and receive super fast internet and clear voice communications. The cellular signal is also required for other devices in the college, such as e-Parking metres and VISA pay terminals. Staff and students also expect to be able to tap their phone to pay for items in the café using Google Pay and other mobile pay Apps.
The Management company reached out to Topsat, a trusted Stella Doradus installer, who has years of experience in solving mobile signal coverage problems in buildings of all types.
The Solution
Topsat surveyed the building to ascertain what the requirements were and to check the signal level in all areas. After, discussing the requirements with the management and checking the signal level in all areas and the location of the operators masts outside, Topsat decided to install a Stella DAS solution. It is a modular solution and the system can be extended very simply if the Management decide in the future that signal might be required in other parts of the building. The system also amplifies all operators and there is no limit to the number of simultaneous users. This was very important to the management as they couldn’t afford to have signal cuts occurring during lectures etc.
The Management wanted to maintain the sleek interiour, and required that the antennas be hidden from view in certain areas, so where possible the antennas were installed above the suspended ceiling and therefore not visible in the room.
Some of the panel antennas were installed in the corridors and the signal passed into the adjacent rooms through the wooden doors.
The materials used for the installation were:
- 3x Yagi external antennas
- 3x Stella Office 5 bands
- 9x Line Amplifiers 5 bands
- 1200m de SD 400
- 44 Antennas (omni directional and panel)
The Result.
Neat installation.
The Management were delighted that the installation of 44 antennas and cables did not visually impact their architectural new building.
All areas of the building now have super fast internet and clear voice calls, allowing all students to use their phones as they would in their own homes.
No operating overhead.
They particularly liked the fact that there is no operating overhead with the Stella DAS system, such as GDPR issues, passwords, and other overheads associated with the maintenance of a WiFi system. Once installed, there are no monthly payments and no GDPR issues.
Eco friendly,
After winning 3 awards for this Eco Friendly building, the Management wanted to ensure that the communication system was also Eco Friendly. It was important that the solution was future proofed and wouldn’t have to be upgraded. When the operators upgrade their networks, the college will automatically benefit from these upgrades through the Stella Repeater Solution, as it amplifies the operator’s network.
The repeater uses the same amount of energy as a lightbulb.
It is by far the most future proofed and therefore Eco friendly solution.
