CHICAGO, Sept. 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dense Air and Millennium Parking
Garages are excited to announce the successful completion of a
groundbreaking pilot project, aimed at enhancing cellular
connectivity in challenging, hard-to-reach locations through
seamless integration with AT&T and T-Mobile networks.
In early May, Dense Air and Millennium Parking Garages embarked
on a unique partnership to transform Millennium Parking Garages
into a test bed for innovative cellular network solutions. The
collaboration focused on overcoming one of the most daunting
challenges in connectivity: delivering reliable service deep
underground through impermeable building materials.
We are thrilled to announce that our teams have delivered on
their promise. By rapidly deploying the cellShare™ multi-carrier
small cell solution, we successfully addressed the connectivity
challenges in the underground garage. The project achieved
continuous cellular coverage from entrance to exit in weeks
vs. traditional solutions that are completed over months and even
years.
"We've tried before to improve cellular communications within
Millennium Garages, but our partnership with Dense Air marks
a significant step towards a scalable connectivity
solution," said Issac
Riggs, Chief Operations Officer, Millennium Garages.
"They have given us confidence with their innovative
design, rapid build, seamless integration with the carriers'
networks, and most importantly, delivering exactly what they
promised: a pilot testbed enabling seamless cellular
connectivity."
To establish the foundational network in phase one, teams developed
an efficient design and deployment strategy that ensured minimal
disruption, a small footprint, rapid implementation, public cloud
connectivity, and seamless integration with T-Mobile and AT&T.
Millennium Parking Garages supplied the facility infrastructure, an
enterprise network with a fiber backbone, a gigabit enterprise
network circuit, and two micro server rooms with rack space to
support the build of the solution. Dense Air then overlaid a cloud
server for centralized management, along with other network
elements, and deployed fiber-connected indoor radios for robust
connectivity.
During the second phase, Dense Air, in collaboration with
AT&T and T-Mobile, extended the public network through advanced
software and network configurations, ensuring a direct,
high-quality connection for AT&T & T-Mobile's subscribers.
Users experienced a strong, reliable cellular service with enhanced
data speeds and voice quality.
"We are very pleased with the improved connectivity and
experience the Dense Air neutral host solution provides for our
customers. These types of innovative solutions are an important
part of providing additional coverage in challenging areas such as
an underground garage," said JR Wilson, Vice President of Tower
Strategy and Roaming at AT&T.
The pilot results are impressive – the user experience has
been transformed from ZERO coverage to download speeds reaching up
to 250 Mbps. This dramatic improvement now allows customers to
initiate voice and video calls, send texts and emails, download
apps and photos, and, critically, maintain a call while entering or
exiting the garage. Notably, the deployment cycle for this build
was among the fastest in the industry, taking 28 days total —an
impressive feat compared to traditional distributed antenna system
(DAS) deployments.
During Lollapalooza, a 4-day music fest in Chicago's Grant
Park with record-breaking crowds, people using the cellular
network in the pilot area saw download speeds as high as 160Mbps,
even during the busiest times. On average, download speeds were
around 40Mbps during those peak periods. Despite the crowded
environment and heavy network demand, these speeds allowed users to
seamlessly access QR codes prior to exiting, stream videos, browse
the web, and use apps without noticeable delays.
As Millennium Parking Garages moves into the next phase of this
project, several use cases to improve the customer's connectivity
experience will be explored including:
- Navigation wayfinding / find my car
- EV (electrical vehicle) charging
- Digital signage
- Connected sensors (occupancy, environmental conditions,
etc.)
This project not only sets a new standard for rapid deployment
and reliable service in the industry but also underscores Dense
Air's ongoing commitment.
"The successful integration and deployment of our cellShare™
solution in Millennium's underground parking garage marks a
significant achievement in transforming connectivity in the most
challenging environments. By seamlessly integrating with AT&T
and T-Mobile networks and delivering unparalleled connectivity
solutions, we have empowered both our partners and their customers
with seamless connectivity." Jim
Estes, CEO Dense Air.
To learn more about the cellShare™ design, installation, and
integration into the carrier's networks, please download our case
study.
About Dense Air
Dense Air is leading the innovation of shared wireless networks
that deliver secure and expanded coverage, making connectivity more
open, shared, and inclusive. Dense Air's cellShare™ offers a unique
end-to-end, Connectivity-as-a-Service solution, with a flexible
financial model designed to solve wireless network coverage and
capacity gaps. Providing multi-operator, small cell solutions that
are resilient, flexible, and more cost effective than existing
alternatives, Dense Air's cellShare™ solution ensures comprehensive
in-building and outdoor cellular coverage, enabling seamless
communications for operators, enterprises, and urban areas.
www.denseair.net
About Millennium Garages
Millennium Garages is a publicly owned, privately operated
infrastructure joint venture that spans 3.8 million square feet in
downtown Chicago. As the largest
downtown public underground parking system in the United States, Millennium's four
facilities offer daily, monthly, and long-term parking for
Chicago commuters, residents,
visitors, and fleet customers. Millennium Garages and its partners
use technology and cross-sector collaboration to enhance urban
mobility, including large-scale electric vehicle charging.
www.MillenniumGarages.com
About AT&T
We help more than 100 million U.S. families, friends and
neighbors, plus nearly 2.5 million businesses, connect to greater
possibility. From the first phone call 140+ years ago to our 5G
wireless and multi-gig internet offerings today, we @ATT innovate
to improve lives. For more information about AT&T Inc.
(NYSE:T), please visit us at about.att.com. Investors can
learn more at investors.att.com.
About T-Mobile US, Inc.
T-Mobile US, Inc. (NASDAQ: TMUS) is America's supercharged
Un-carrier, delivering an advanced 4G LTE and transformative
nationwide 5G network that will offer reliable connectivity for
all. T-Mobile's customers benefit from its unmatched combination of
value and quality, unwavering obsession with offering them the best
possible service experience and undisputable drive for disruption
that creates competition and innovation in wireless and beyond.
Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile
provides services through its subsidiaries and operates its
flagship brands, T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile. For more
information please visit: https://www.t-mobile.com.
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