Dekolink launches distributed antenna system for first responders

Dekolink Wireless unveiled this week at IWCE 2008 in Las Vegas the FR-DAS platform, which is designed to improve in-building coverage for public safety networks.

The system consists of an antenna located on the outside of the building that picks up outdoor signals, a bi-directional amplifier that boosts and strengthens the signal, and a passive distributed antenna system that distributes the signal throughout the building, according to the company.

Dekolink President Jeffrey Fuller described the system as a comprehensive turnkey solution targeted primarily to system integrators. “We believe we are the first company to offer a complete package that an integrator can buy that includes the antennas, the lines, the repeaters and the BDAs, all of the parts that a first responder would need, as opposed to having to piece-meal it out and having to worry about who’s going to install [each part],” he said.

However, the platform also will be sold directly to public safety agencies that want to hire their own system integrator, Fuller said.

Though there long has been a need for better in-building coverage for first responders, the market is burgeoning right now, according to Fuller, largely due to a growing tendency on the part of municipalities to codify such systems.

“There are almost 50 ordinances nationwide right now that require some sort of public safety in-building coverage at a certain [decibel] level,” he said.

When he asked whether this is a growing trend, he said, “Absolutely. I had a police chief tell me that interoperability has been the cry in the public safety world for probably the last 10 years, and he believes in-building is going to be the new cry.” —Glenn Bischoff