Future DAS Growth will be in Commercial Real Estate

December 11, 2013

Metrocells may have all of the buzz right now, but DAS has the numbers, according to analysts. By 2017, DAS deployments could see more than 300 percent growth, according to iGR Research, a market Research firm, which released a report U.S. DAS Market Forecast, 2012 to 2017 Installations, Tenancy, OpEx and CapEx in November.

DAS will become more important to carriers in the next four years and in-building systems will be the next competitive battleground as more employees are allowed to “bring your own device” (BYOD) to work, Ian Gillott, president and founder of iGR, said during the webcast.

“There are a lot of [DAS] systems out there with a single tenant, a lot with only a couple of tenants and very few with four or five tenants,” he said. “We see more tenants per DAS system later in the forecast.”

CapEx and OpEx will grow by as much as 500 percent in the next five years, according to iGR.

DAS a Require Amenity at Empire State Building

It might be hard to believe, but a huge swath of what is known as Class A commercial real estate or the highest-quality buildings on the market has yet to be penetrated by in-building wireless systems. ExteNet System identified real estate venues as ripe for implementation of indoor DAS three years ago. Two years ago, ExteNet deployed a DAS in the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower) in Chicago.

“We see a lot of Class A buildings without in-building coverage, similar to the Willis Tower before we deployed there,” Ross Manire, ExteNet president and CEO, said.

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan, the iconic Empire State Building also did not have an in-building wireless system. Until now. ExteNet Systems signed an agreement with Malkin Holdings to design, own and operate the distributed antenna system that will enable wireless access on each of the building’s 102 stories. The new DAS will serve as the crown jewel in the building’s makeover, which includes energy-efficiency, buildingwide energy infrastructure upgrades and the restoration of the art deco lobby at a cost of more than $550 million.

ExteNet is currently deploying its network, which is slated for completion in the second quarter 2014. SOLiD is the vendor for the hardware, and 15 miles of coax and fiber will be required to wire the building.

Connectivity just as Important as Location

Telecommunications networks and power infrastructure cannot be an afterthought when it comes to master planning new business development, James Carlini, president and certified infrastructure consultant, Carlini & Associates, told an audience at the Building Industry Consulting Service International’s Winter Conference & Exhibition, Jan. 22, in Tampa, Fla.

“For example, if I was planning to build a business park, I would wait until I got my corporate tenants in to really decide what to do from a power and network infrastructure standpoint,” he said. “That is not the case anymore. Today, you have to have those issues taken care of upfront.”

In the last couple of years, broadband connectivity has jumped into the top three criteria of corporate site selection committees, Carlini said.

“Most corporate site selection committees are looking for power and network infrastructure when choosing a business park to place a corporate facility,” he said. “Broadband connectivity and redundant power supplies equal intelligent amenities, which equal economic development.”