Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Proactively planning for cell phone service needs...

Most people want good cell phone service at their projects; however, many don’t understand that discovering what service providers are impacted and to what extent is an important first step.  By the time project is completed it is often too late.  Not because fixes are not available, but because they can be costly, especially if done on a retrofit basis and without proper planning and budgeting. 

If there is a problem, deciding what to do requires good information, expertise as well as a solid plan to navigate your way through what is often a multi-tiered coordination and execution process.  Getting a plan in place as soon as possible and having a single point of contact, who not only understands your project, but also cell phone service development and delivery are important to help simplify the process for you. 

Regarding the assessment, beyond securing readings and providing a summary of data, it is important to understand the likely actual end user experience.  Often overlooked is data performance, which supports many prominent phone features, but in the future will likely a transport method for voice calls.  You need user friendly, findings as well as a broad array of segmented remedies designed to address each service provider’s situation at your project. 

Post assessment, to be effective you need to be able have a resource that can work with the service providers, manufacturers, vendors, attorneys, engineers and others to consider, ask, answer and understand the following kind of issues:

  • Where are the nearest service provider sites near your project? 
  • Is the service provider upgrading service or adding new cell sites near your project? 
  • Will a consumer based solutions scale properly or will they make things worse? 
  • Will a booster based technology work properly and if not, why? 
  • Is a single provider enterprise solution right for you and how do you get one?
  • How can you get service provider design approval and/or consent for the proposed solution?
  • If service providers are willing to work with you, how much will it cost and how long with it take?
  • What kinds of performance standards and contractual safeguards need to be in place?
  • What manufacturer/vendors do the service providers use and should you use the same ones? 
  • What kind of equipment space and pathways will be needed?


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