TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL) announced that its FlexWave Prism distributed antenna system (DAS) has been deployed to restore wireline and wireless telephone service on New York’s Fire Island, in the ongoing post-hurricane recovery in wake of last year's Superstorm Sandy.
When Hurricane Sandy destroyed the wireline telephone infrastructure on the island, the local wireline service provider and its wireless counterpart teamed up to deploy the FlexWave Prism DAS to bring landline, E911, LTE and 3G mobile services to the area. Local residents plug their landline phones into a wireless gateway to receive dial tone and normal telephone service, while mobile users can also access the network through their cell phones and smartphones.
TE bills its FlexWave Prism is an outdoor DAS that brings resilient mobile coverage and capacity to areas such as suburbs, stadiums, and corporate campuses. The company contends that, while a wireline solution would have taken months to deploy and would have been much more expensive with nearly insignificant ROI, the FlexWave Prism system was deployed to Fire Island in just four weeks, bringing a speedy recovery of communications services to storm-weary residents.
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The Fire Island DAS includes thirteen remote units, some with two simulcast antennas, and provides service in the AWS MIMO, 700 MHz Upper C Block MIMO, and 850/1900 MHz 2G and 3G frequency bands. TE notes that the system’s expandability allows for plenty of room to grow to accommodate new mobile services in the future without forklift upgrades.
“Reliable communication service is a crucial first step in returning residents’ lives to normal after a hurricane,” comments Peter Wraight, vice president and general manager of Wireless at TE Connectivity. “With FlexWave Prism, we can restore both wireless and wireline phone service at minimal cost and in a minimal amount of time so residents can begin rebuilding their lives.”
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