Case Study

Insulet Solves Poor Cell Reception with BDAs

Client: Insulet

Location: MA

Technology: Cellular reception

Sector: Life Sciences

Lifecycle Phases Showing KTS Involvement:

Plan

Design

Install

Service

Solutions implemented by KTS:

Infrastructure

Wireless

Security

Audio Visual

Cellular BDA

Insulet Corporation, a life sciences company and long-time customer of KTS, was having difficulty with cell reception in their warehouse in Acton, MA. They contacted KTS to help them solve the problem.

The Work

Insulet recently acquired a warehouse near their manufacturing facility. The warehouse is large – over 100,000 square feet – and is constructed of concrete blocks and metal siding, which makes it difficult for a cell signal to penetrate.

The building is also located relatively far from cell towers, making quality of cell reception more challenging. Due to the size of the warehouse, KTS recommended the use of Bi-directional amplifiers (BDAs). KTS designed and installed three BDAs and three long-range Yagi directional antennas pointed toward the nearest cell tower. This design would enable the facility to receive the best possible cell signal.

Challenges

The warehouse has 30-foot ceilings, higher than typical ceilings. Using 40-foot scissor lifts, the experienced team at KTS installed the wiring and mounted the antennas on steel support beams 30 feet above the finish floor. Because of the height of the ceilings and the use of lifts, some additional care and planning was required to ensure that the job was done properly and with the safety of the KTS team top of mind.

Benefits/Impacts

With the BDAs installed, the warehouse now has usable LTE signals from all three major cellular carriers: Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T. The reliable cell coverage in the warehouse improves both safety and productivity for the Insulet team!