In-Building Wireless Vendor of the Year: Andrew Solutions |
Andrew Asia-Pacific VP of sales Navin Vohra looks at the past year's highlights.
We saw tremendous growth in our coverage and capacity solutions business. This was bolstered by the launch of our Wired for Wireless, which is aimed at providing owners and developers of new buildings and campuses with the infrastructure necessary - in advance - to eliminate weak or blocked signal areas from the outset and prepare them for better wireless coverage over the structure's lifetime.
In addition, we introduced the wide-band indoor antenna and passive device (700-2700 MHz) for in-building coverage. We have also launched our node AM repeater for in-train coverage solutions this year. The rail industry is a challenging sector due to the accelerated velocity, metalized windows and fluctuating signal levels that complicate handoffs and connectivity. The Chinese rail authorities use our solutions extensively in the national railway network.
What trends do you see supporting your growth?
New technologies such as LTE have the ability to deliver video transmission and real-time mapping of graphics, which enhances public safety information. However, for operators, this would mean looking at network infrastructure upgrades, capacity enhancements due to the increasing demand of data traffic by smartphones along with the demand of high-quality products in safety critical system. An example of what we have done is the GSM-R system in China, which can handle voice and data even on the 350km/hr high-speed railway, and the Tetra system in use by China Metro.
How do you future-proof indoor coverage so that it will last for as long as the building does?
Architectural design and layouts of enterprise buildings, campuses and large venues can be the enemy of wireless technology, limiting signal coverage and making it difficult and costly to install systems to create better wireless coverage and capacity. For example, most new hospitals, high-rise office buildings, hotels and government buildings boast energy-saving features such as heavily insulated walls and windows that reduce energy costs. Unfortunately, those same energy-saving measures can also make it difficult to receive outside wireless signals.
What is needed is an infrastructure capable of eliminating these dead zones within new buildings, and a carrier-neutral solution that frees enterprises and building owners from a single-carrier commitment, offering the flexibility to enable other applications that can contribute to enterprise efficiency and productivity.
What's your roadmap for 2011?
Our focus always has been to help customers reduce cost while increasing network growth, using environmentally friendly solutions and getting deployments right, the first time. In terms of technology, we are agnostic and we will continue to develop and roll-out innovative solutions that result in lower total deployment, operating and future upgrade costs.
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