BICSI Releases New Standard for Distributed Antenna Systems

BICSI has released its latest standard, ANSI/BICSI 006-2015, Distributed Antenna System (DAS) Design and Implementation Best Practices.

In 2014, mobile data traffic was nearly 30 times the size of the entire global Internet traffic in 2000. Over the next five years, mobile data is projected to increase by factor of 10. Capacity, access and reliability are words often used to describe what current and future wireless infrastructure needs to be. Solutions like distributed antenna systems (DAS) assist in providing capacity and access. And for a DAS, the design and installation of the DAS is vital for the reliability demanded by users.

ANSI/BICSI 006-2015 is the first DAS infrastructure standard that provides designers and installers both information on the types and components of a DAS and also provides requirements and recommendations for the design and installation of a standards-compliant, vendor-neutral DAS that is able to be used for a wide range of applications, environments and locations.

A DAS supports numerous services used on a daily basis, including cellular service; personal communications service (PCS); enhanced specialized mobile radio (ESMR); advanced wireless services (AWS); broadband radio services (BRS); public safety and business band land mobile radio (LMR); and emergency medical service (EMS) radio. As reliance on these services — and thus the underlying infrastructure — has increased significantly, the BICSI DAS Standard was developed to provide industry and service provider neutral requirements and best practices for the design and installation of a DAS to meet current and future needs.

“Distributed antenna systems is a hot topic in ICT, and one that holds great importance,” said BICSI president Michael Collins, RCDD, RTPM, CCDA, NCE. “The release of the new DAS Standard further solidifies BICSI’s place as a leader in standards development, and it shows our commitment to advancing the industry.”