Read about a few of ExteNet Systems' networks:

Chicago, Illinois
Willis Tower

Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley Hospital

Ann Arbor, Michigan
University of Michigan

Chicago, Illinois
McCormick Place Convention Center

Eastern Seaboard, U.S.
NOC, Field Teams Deliver Emergency Customer Service Following Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene delivered a knockout punch to electric power along the East Coast the last weekend in August 2011, but the Network Operations Center (NOC) and field team members at ExteNet Systems successfully fought back throughout the stormy weekend and beyond.

Though Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it reached New York and New England, its 75 mph winds and torrential rain caused millions of homes and businesses to lose power, often due to downed trees.

To address damage and service outages to the company’s networks, all ExteNet East Coast field teams were staged with equipment and ready to go 48 hours prior to the hurricane’s arrival. Meantime, ExteNet staffed its NOC with technicians 24/7 throughout the weekend. NOC personnel tracked the outages while field teams investigated at the scene, proceeding pole to pole to confirm that nodes and fiber lines were intact.

The NOC maintained an open bridge all weekend for customer calls, and team members proactively reached out with hourly updates to customers of networks hit hardest by the storm. Carriers also made use of ExteNet’s customer web portal to obtain status information.

Although Irene eclipsed the impact to the company’s networks from the much stronger Hurricane Ike in Texas in 2008, a majority of the network outages from Hurricane Irene were repaired and restored within 24 hours. Other nodes required commercial power to be restored. Still, all networks were back in operation by mid-week following the storm.

Houston, Texas
ExteNet Systems’ Rugged Network Engineering and Around-the-Clock Monitoring Ensured Seamless Disaster Recovery in the Wake of Hurricane Ike

Days before Hurricane Ike hammered Houston with 110 mile per hour winds and pounding rains, ExteNet Systems had resources in place to restore potential service outages for a national wireless carrier’s customers in Memorial Villages, Texas. Just west of downtown Houston, Memorial Villages was devastated by the storm surge and flooding damage. While the heavily wooded neighborhoods lost giant trees and commercial power, ExteNet Systems had a crew on the ground, ready to perform damage assessments immediately after the storm passed.

To ensure that the wireless carrier’s service would be restored as quickly as possible, ExteNet Systems’ Network Operations Center (NOC) team made advance preparations, including lining up local construction and fiber crews. The team readied spare components and sent implementation and operations staff from the company’s Lisle, Illinois headquarters to the devastated region. Anticipating the worst, the disaster recovery team made a strategic decision to cover the main roads first. Within 48 hours of the power outages, the ExteNet Systems engineers assessed the damage and dispatched generators. The network was then up and running for emergency services personnel with strong, reliable connections as they traveled to the aid of residents.

"Our NOC switched to full disaster mode two full days before Ike made landfall in Texas,” said Oliver Valente, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. “We lined up resources and carefully monitored the storm, safeguarding our customers from prolonged service interruptions. This is crucial at all times, but essential in emergency situations. This is an absolute demonstration of the quality we engineer into our networks.”

Cape Romano, Florida
ExteNet Systems National Operations Center on the Frontlines During Tropical Storm Fay

Four days before Tropical Storm Fay made landfall near Cape Romano on Florida’s southwest coast, the network operations center (NOC) team at ExteNet Systems hunkered down to closely monitor the storm and its potential track. As Fay churned toward southeast and central Cuba on August 16, 2008, it was impossible to know the exact path that the storm would take, but the NOC team was prepared to keep its distributed antenna system network (DAS) up and running for MetroPCS and its cellular customers in Wellington, Florida. Located in Palm Beach County, Wellington is home to 55,000 residents and is known as the winter equestrian capital of the world.

Based at the company’s corporate offices, ExteNet Systems’ state-of-the-art NOC is a centralized command and control center that monitors its networks around the clock and around the country. The NOC also connects directly to each DAS network, and offers a secure, web-based interface with real-time alarm status.

To ensure that MetroPCS service would not be disrupted by the severe weather, the NOC team made advance preparations, including lining up local service crews and readying spare components in Palm Beach County. Using radar provided by the National Weather Service and internal alarm controls engineered into the network’s software, the NOC staff was able to constantly check for potential outages. “The NOC gives us the critical information we need to operate our networks without interruption,” noted Ray Lam, ExteNet Systems Director, Network Operations & Performance. “We are on the frontlines 24/7/365 providing active monitoring and delivering disaster recovery service to our customers.”

Even though the Florida State Emergency Operations Center was fully activated due to Fay’s impact on the area, MetroPCS didn’t have to contend with outages or interruptions in Wellington.

“Whenever we enter a region that faces hurricanes, tropical storms and tornados, we have to make certain that our DAS networks will withstand a variety of severe conditions,” said Oliver Valente, ExteNet Systems Vice President and Chief Operating officer. “Our DAS networks are rugged and perform during emergencies and normal everyday conditions.”

Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
Office Complex for 400 Gets Great In-Building Coverage on Move-In Day

Dallas/Ft. Worth’s vibrant tech economy means that companies are expanding into larger quarters – and employees are bringing their mobile handsets with them. For these companies, indoor cellular coverage for their employees is a must. It is often challenging because of traffic characteristics, building layout, surrounding networks and high cost.

A nationally recognized telecommunications company came to ExteNet Systems requesting an in-building network that would be operational at its new suburban Dallas corporate headquarters on move-in day – only three weeks away. ExteNet Systems’ HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) in-building distributed antenna system (DAS) approach provided the customer with the cost structure and flexibility needed to provide ubiquitous coverage.

Working with a compressed timeline posed no challenges for the ExteNet Systems team. Using the six-story building’s HVAC system, the team of professionals at ExteNet Systems designed a DAS network that covers 120,000 square feet and serves 400 employees.

Assessing, testing and implementing the network were accomplished in just three days.

With the network up and running even before the office furniture was unpacked, the company’s workplace gets seamless coverage from the lunchroom to the boardroom.

Las Vegas, Nevada
Upgrading Technology to Match Glitzy Aesthetics in a World-Famous 24/7 Urban Environment

Las Vegas is the town that never shuts down. And when you go there, whether you’re a high roller or a conventioneer, you demand 24/7 access to everything, even during peak demand – including great wireless coverage.

A nationally recognized wireless service provider invited ExteNet Systems to design a network system that would handle huge capacity requirements while also meeting the unusual aesthetics of the glitzy Strip, one of the world’s most famous streets.

ExteNet Systems created a DAS network that solved a key wireless problem in the coverage area – interference issues caused by the unique location of the Strip at the bottom of a desert valley. The company replaced the old, weathered utility poles with new, state-of-the-art utility poles that were designed for the area’s specific wind conditions.

So when visitors to the Strip now look up – from the MGM Grand to the Sahara – they can see ExteNet Systems’ DAS network that provides a much-appreciated coverage and capacity boost for our customer.

Memorial Villages, Texas
Upgrading Technology to Serve Multiple Communities

The Memorial Villages is an area 5-10 miles west of downtown Houston that is actually six independent villages. These independent communities operate autonomously of Houston and have joint fire and police coverage.

The residential areas have large, beautiful homes occupied by upwardly mobile executives, and these residents – like residents everywhere – were looking for better wireless coverage in their neighborhoods.

In four of these villages - Bunker Hill, Hedwig, Piney Point and Hunter's Creek - as well as within a western portion of the CIty of Houston proper, better wireless coverage was needed and demanded. ExteNet Systems was invited by a major carrier to design and build a distributed antenna system (DAS) network that would increase coverage in an area that serves about 15 miles of homes and businesses. The key challenges were helping these four communities come to agreement on the best locations and aesthetics for the installation of the DAS equipment. ExteNet Systems’ technical know-how, as well as the company's commitment and ability to bring parties together, were instrumental in making this project successful.

Now up and running, the DAS network from ExteNet Systems has delivered significantly improved coverage with minimal impact to the aesthetics in four of Memorial Villages' independent communities.

 

Franklin, Michigan
Balancing Demands for New Technology with Desire for Historic Preservation

The Village of Franklin is a community in Southeastern Michigan approximately 20 miles outside Detroit. Called "The Town That Time Forgot," Franklin residents value the character of the village’s historic look and feel, and the Franklin Village Center is one of the first registered Historical Districts in the State of Michigan.

However, the community also recognized that time truly doesn’t stand still. Tired of spotty wireless coverage, residents wanted their community to have quality wireless voice and advanced data services. A major carrier heard its customers and asked ExteNet Systems to help design a DAS network that worked with the carrier’s macro network.

The challenge that existed for the Village Council, Village Historical Society and Village Administrator was to find a method to provide quality wireless services while meeting the aesthetic concerns of citizens. Further, the solution needed to be economically viable for all parties.

ExteNet Systems, with its DAS network, provided that solution. The compact nature of our remote nodes along with centralization of the wireless service provider base station equipment in an existing office building made this a very attractive option for this community. Following construction of the network and BTS Hub, ExteNet Systems completed the installation and optimized the network. The network is now used by two major wireless carriers.

Bloomfield Township, Michigan
Expanding Wireless Capacity to Winding Roads Leading In and Out of a Community

Incorporated in 1827, Bloomfield Township has a population of 44,000. This residential community has substantial natural beauty with winding roads, rolling hills and tranquil lakes. The area is attractive to many business professionals and executives because of the beautiful environment and its close proximity to Detroit. But commuters driving to and from Bloomfield Township often faced poor wireless service. A major wireless service provider asked ExteNet Systems to help improve coverage in the nearby roads and areas leading in and out of the township.

ExteNet Systems presented its solution, which did not impact the natural beauty of the area, to the township’s Design Review Board and received approval in 2006 to install its DAS network on the existing utility infrastructure. The new system is successfully expanding capacity in the area for customers of the wireless service providers that operate on the ExteNet Systems network.

Grosse Pointe, Michigan
Enhancing Wireless Coverage for Linked Communities

There are six residential communities that make up the Grosse Pointe area bordering on Lake St. Clair, which forms the link between Lake Huron and Lake Erie. They are: the city of Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Shores and St. Clair Shores. The neighborhoods, located north of Detroit, are affluent lakefront communities that have maintained an old world charm.

Unable to install a traditional tower network, wireless service providers asked ExteNet Systems to design a DAS network to provide seamless coverage for the six communities to improve the quality of voice and data services. These linked residential areas now have a system that supports all six communities, giving residents significantly better wireless coverage without intrusive equipment.

Dallas, Texas
Improving Capacity in a Dense, Urban Area

This dense neighborhood of Dallas has thousands of apartment dwellers whose cell phones have replaced landline phone service as their mode of voice communication. ExteNet Systems worked on behalf of a wireless service provider to develop a DAS network that would alleviate severe capacity constraints.

As with many urban areas, space is at a premium, so the ability to place wireless towers close enough to the affected areas was impossible. Instead, ExteNet Systems’ equipment was installed directly on the neighborhood utility infrastructure in a configuration that provided capacity where needed. The network that ExteNet Systems implemented significantly improved the quality of service to customers of the wireless service provider and has capacity available to meet future subscriber growth.