In-building DAS deployments to increase
A new report from telecommunications industry analysis firm IGR projects distributed antenna system spending will reach nearly $30 billion by 2018.
A DAS is a type of small cell that is primarily deployed to increase coverage and capacity in large indoor spaces like stadiums, concert halls and other venues.
The IGR projection includes spending on initial build-outs as well as maintenance of existing deployments. The firm estimated a 20% compound annual growth rate related to DAS spending.
“After further analysis of the DAS market, we have forecasted the actual U.S. DAS installations, as well as the associated build spending and operating costs,” said Iain Gillott, founder and president of IGR.
The new report, titled “U.S. DAS Market Forecast, 2013-2018: Installations, Tenancy and Spending,“ analyzes DAS architecture, use cases and profiles of more than 20 system vendors.
DAS in the news
The IGR report is in step with recent comments from Paula Doublin, AT&T’s AVP of antenna solutions, DAS and small cells. For 2015, Doublin forecasted more commercial deployments, which AT&T evaluates based on five criteria: customer experience in the building; the likelihood that other carriers will share the cost of the DAS; the quality of coverage outside the building; the physical state of the building and owner’s involvement; and return on investment.
She pointed to video streaming as a major driver of the increased demand for data capacity, which DAS attempts to provide.
“There’s going to come a point in time where you’ll never just use voice only,” she said. “Every call will be video, every bit of entertainment will be video. In order to make that happen you have to start to build a foundation now, so the networks that we’re building now have to lead into those. That’s why we’re calling it a video first architecture,” Doublin said.
ExteNet Systems is another major player in the DAS space; the firm is responsible for the deployment at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., which was recently given the distinction of providing the fastest Wi-Fi speed (5.09 megabits per second) of any stadium used in the National Basketball Association.
Jon Davis, ExteNet’s VP of in-building solutions, told RCR Wireless News: “I think fans are going to be clamoring for that type of service and experience for years to come.”
