Las Vegas – In a culmination of three years of planning, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) has launched one of the nation’s largest Neutral-Host Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC).
The move, accomplished in partnership with Cox Business/Hospitality Network and InSite Wireless Group LLC, provides significantly better service to as many as 100,000 people simultaneously, including download speeds faster than most convention centers and many corporate networks. The system is supported by four U.S. wireless carriers who signed on to help launch the service.
Earlier this year, Hugh Sinnock, Vice President of Customer Experience at the Las Vegas Convention Center, told Trade Show Executive that the participation of those carriers in the $18 million investment was the key to getting the project done. “We don’t have the buying power to do it alone,” he said. Still, the investment was necessary, according to Sinnock. “Clients won’t go where they can’t get the top level of service,” he said.
The general principle behind the DAS concept is that a linked network of low-powered, separate antennas and repeaters that provide overlapping coverage in an enclosed area improves cellular capacity and reception, eliminating dropped calls and creating a better user experience. The new system can simultaneously accommodate traffic from all of the participating wireless carriers, meeting both wireless voice and data demands at levels that are common at high-attendance and technology-rich trade shows and events.
In addition to the DAS system, the LVCC also has increased the number of 802.11ac Wi-Fi access points from 166 to 2,100, installed all new fiber optic and Ethernet switching infrastructure and improved Internet capacity with redundant 10 gigabit fiber connections. The LVCVA will work with Cox, InSite and participating carriers to extend the DAS infrastructure into the recently approved LVCC expansion facilities. The DAS system also has a future-proof design that will allow it to accommodate 5G cellular technology once it becomes available.
Reach Hugh Sinnock at (702) 8927526 or hsinnock@lvcva.com.
