2012 December Archive - WhiteHorseGrp

Archive for December, 2012

The Necessity of a Site Survey to Determine Cell Phone Signal Quality

Posted on: December 14th, 2012 by whit3068

In this day of cell phones and data usage, being able to use our phones wherever we go is increasingly important. However, cell signal quality can vary greatly from one location to another, from outdoors to indoors, and even from one room to another.

If you are an installer, a site survey can save time and accurately prepare for a cell signal booster installation. Knowing the layout of the building and existing cell signals can also prepare you to speak with the customer about why their calls are dropping and illustrate your plans to fix the problem.

In this post, we’ll discuss what a site survey is, why it matters, and how to conduct a survey prior to installation.

U.S. CELLULAR TO SELL SELECT MIDWEST MARKETS TO SPRINT

Posted on: December 14th, 2012 by whit3068

CHICAGO – Nov. 7, 2012 – United States Cellular Corporation (NYSE: USM) today announced strategic actions designed to increase focus on markets where it has strong positions and streamline operations to increase overall efficiency and effectiveness.

U.S. Cellular has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Chicago, St. Louis, central Illinois and three other Midwest markets (the “Transaction Markets”) to subsidiaries of Sprint Nextel Corporation (NYSE: S) for $480 million. The sale includes PCS spectrum and approximately 585,000 customers, or about 10 percent of U.S. Cellular’s total customer base.

The company also announced that it will transition its Bolingbrook Customer Care Center operations to an existing vendor partner, effective Jan. 1, 2013. “In the dynamic wireless marketplace, we have a clear strategy to accelerate profitable growth and increase return on investment over the long term, and we are taking decisive steps to achieve it,” said Mary N. Dillon, U.S. Cellular president and CEO. “Exiting these markets enables us to play to our strengths in markets where we have higher penetration and where we can effectively sharpen our proven strategy to differentiate the U.S. Cellular customer experience from other wireless carriers. Going forward, we will continue to serve more than 5.2 million customers with the unparalleled experience they expect from U.S. Cellular.”

Cellular and RF Site Surveying

Posted on: December 6th, 2012 by whit3068

Our Cellular Wireless Site Surveys involve the use of professional measurement tools, such as spectrum analyzers, to ensure successful cellular coverage inside building for enterprise customers, and externally for service providers. In today’s cellular world, poor reception in office buildings, parking garages and airports can lead to missed calls, missed opportunities, and loss of revenue.

Many enterprise organizations do not have reliable and critical call coverage inside various buildings. White Horse Group can provide a detailed cellular analysis and use this survey to project your need for a DAS or Small Cell deployment to provide adequate coverage.

Regardless of where you are in North America, your industry, or your company size, White Horse Group can provide Wireless RF advisory services on time and within budget. Of course, a brief consultation will need to be done over the phone, but beyond that you can count on a White Horse Group expert to visit your place of business and get to the root of any wireless RF weakness fast.

Wireless RF Site Surveys

Posted on: December 6th, 2012 by whit3068

A wireless site survey, sometimes called an RF site survey or WLAN wireless survey, is the process of planning and designing a wireless network, to provide a wireless solution that will deliver the required wireless coverage, data rates, network capacity, roaming capability and Quality of Service (QoS). The survey usually involves a site visit to test for RF interference, and to identify optimum installation locations for access points. This requires analysis of building floor plans, inspection of the facility, and use of site survey tools.

As part of the wireless site survey, the effective range boundary is set, which defines the area over which signal levels are needed to support the intended application. This involves determining the minimum signal to noise ratio (SNR) needed to support performance requirements.

A WLAN wireless site survey can also mean the walk-testing, auditing, analysis or diagnosis of an existing wireless network, particularly one which is not providing the level of service required.