Personally, I would think that using WiFi calling as a replacement for cell
coverage (as opposed to an enhancement) is a long ways off, especially given
how many phones are still out there that don't support it. Instead, I'd
suggest looking at a 3rd party DAS system, which would also have the advantage
of allowing you to work with multiple carriers. We've been having good
results with Seamless Cellular, though I'm sure there are plenty of other
vendors out there:
http://www.seamlesscellular.com/
Frank Sweetser fs at wpi.edu | For every problem, there is a solution that
Manager of Network Operations | is simple, elegant, and wrong.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute | - HL Mencken
On 10/16/2015 02:14 PM, Smith, Todd wrote:
Hello,
Yesterday, a regional VP for AT&T Wireless told my Enterprise Architect and CIO that
AT&T was not interested in pursuing a distributed antenna system with us and made it
clear that they would not be moving forward with any DAS in the future. In seems, that
Wi-Fi calling is the moving forward strategy for AT&T for poor cellular signal and
presumably other carriers. I wasn’t in the meeting but I am confident that it has been
reported accurately.
Does this sound like anything that anyone else has heard? If so, how are other
institutions handling this? It seems silly that our organization which is in
the planning stages for a Wi-Fi wireless upgrade anyway would build in the
necessary upgrades to accumulate cell carrier backhaul traffic for no
compensation whatsoever.
As usual, my job is to do or die, so I am trying to see what others might have
done and if possible start a line of discussion to reason out the best way to
handle poor cellular coverage in both older buildings as well as brand new
LEEDS certified buildings.
1) Would you create a new SSID for cellular traffic with QoS enabled and
open to the Internet with UDP 500 and 4500 open as well as more normal ports?
2) I can’t find any solid reference that details exactly how much
bandwidth per call. I have literally read in the last couple of hours,
everything from 2.5Kbps to 1Mbps to a general consensus from 60-128Kbps per
call.
3) 2.4Ghz or 5Ghz or both?
4) Much of the discussion of seamless handover from cell to Wi-Fi involved
HD Voice which seems to be provisioned as part of VoLTE and only available in
some areas; i.e. not my coverage area. How to communicate to your normal users
and any public that uses your Wi-Fi that when they switch between platforms;
the call will be dropped?
5) Would we be responsible for maintaining redundant Internet connections
just to support cell calls? Is there any requirement that would state that
since we are providing cellular infrastructure that we are responsible for a
certain minimum SLA?
Is there any other questions or comments to think about?
Todd
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