Wireless Infrastructure Group gets Connected at Manchester’s MediaCityUK

Contact:Head Office

Avondale HousePhoenix CrescentStrathclyde Business ParkBellshill ML4 3NJ

Contact.

Craig BirchenoughTelepone.

01698 842426Email.

CBirchenough@wirelessinfrastructure.co.uk

“ We were looking for a partner capable of designing, deploying and managing a single wireless solution to complement our existing communications network. The experts at WIG rose to the challenge and were able to meet our unique requirements by delivering one of the UK’s largest and most advanced wireless communication solutions. We’re now supporting the mobile demands of MediaCityUK, as well as having an appropriate network upgrade path to support emerging wireless technologies over time.”

Paul Clennell, CTO, dock10, MediaCityUK

wirelessinfrastructure.co.uk

MediaCityUK ManchesterCase Study

Wireless Infrastructure Group has teamed up with MediaCityUK to deliver one of the UK’s largest and most advanced wireless communication technology solutions. THE VENUE

MediaCityUK is a new waterfront destination for Manchester, with digital creativity, learning and leisure at its heart. A leading international hub for the creative and digital sectors, the 1.8m sq ft development provides a vibrant destination to work, live and play.

MediaCityUK features one of the biggest HD studio developments in Europe and a wide range of commercial office space which accommodates more than 200 businesses including globally recognised names such as the BBC, ITV and SIS. The University of Salford provides a range of digital and creative technology courses to over 1500 students who also currently reside at MediaCityUK. The MediaCityUK campus consists of 7 key buildings and sees an average daily footfall of around 10,000 wireless communication users in search of high quality coverage and signal.

THE CHALLENGE

MediaCityUK operates one of the most advanced and sophisticated wireless communication networks ever developed in the UK, capable of supporting the high bandwidth demands of the media sector.

Wireless Infrastructure Group was selected as partner to MediaCityUK to design, fund, deploy and manage a single mobile solution that would complement their existing communications network. The solution needed to be capable of supporting voice and data services on behalf of all UK mobile network operators and include an appropriate upgrade path to support emerging wireless technologies over time.

The dense nature of the MediaCityUK campus and the modern building materials used during its construction meant network users often suffered from poor signal, which created a number of technical challenges. An extensive design process was undertaken by our experienced engineering team to create a wireless solution that overcame these challenges and delivered dedicated and seamless indoor coverage across the campus.

wirelessinfrastructure.co.uk

THE SOLUTION

Working with the technical team at MediaCityUK and with Telefonica O2 as anchor network operator, Wireless Infrastructure Group created a solution based on a Distributed Antenna System (DAS). The approved design consisted of the following network features:

• A central equipment room hosting DAS control equipment and individual customer base stations.

• Dedicated site-wide fibre connectivity between the central equipment room and 18 strategically located radio remote units.

• Over 25km of discreetly installed fibre optic and coaxial cable.

• 325 discreet antenna points deployed across the campus to deliver coverage and capacity to those areas where end users require it.

The DAS was successfully activated in December 2012 enabling the delivery of 2G and 3G voice and data services to Telefonica O2 customers across the campus. Since its launch, the DAS has been successfully extended to accommodate ongoing site development at MediaCityUK and to support the requirements of Vodafone who connected in April 2013.

THE BENEFIT

The deployment of the DAS has enabled the delivery of mobile services across the MediaCityUK campus through a single; open-access infrastructure platform. The DAS has been designed to support all of the UK mobile network operators simultaneously providing them with a genuine speed to market approach for addressing end user demand.

Wireless Infrastructure Group has invested significant capital into the development of the DAS to ensure that key network components are ready to support next generation technologies and services.

Wireless Infrastructure Group provides real time network monitoring, robust maintenance and around the clock service level commitments to ensure that network downtime is minimised and the DAS continues to perform at optimum levels.

MediaCityUK, Manchester

MediaCityUK ManchesterCase Study