OHO CONNECT ENHANCES 4G LTE RELIABILITY FOR INTERNATIONAL HOTEL CHAIN
A large international hotel chain audited its telecommunications services and determined they needed to convert their locations to a more cost effective solution. Additionally, in most jurisdictions in the United States, guest rooms must have a working telephone to dial 911 or the room cannot be rented. Thus, hotels are dependent on reliable telephone service, both for the facility and for its guests. However, telecommunications equipment rooms tend to be in sub-basements, behind heavy concrete walls that limit access to strong, usable cellular signals. In some locations, the signal strength measured -95dB to -105dB at the device, which is not strong enough for a reliable connection.
Solution
The hotel chain consulted a VoIP provider to design a solution that reduced costs and increased reliability and redundancy. The provider implemented a backup solution running across the major carrier’s 4G/LTE networks as well as an out of band (OOB) management solution to remotely administer on-premise equipment the Hosted PBX. The provider partnered with OHO Connect to install the solution into the designated properties to ensure stable cellular signal that would act as a safeguard against an outage.
In order for the solution to be viable, the 4G signal strength where the provider’s equipment and the PBX is located had to be sufficient to provide the hotel with telephone service.
OHO Connect identified the need to conduct a thorough RF survey and address any issues with low cellular signal prior to the installation of the OpenGear 4G LTE resilience gateway and the voice gateway at the property. As a cellular fail-over device, the OpenGear ensures connectivity in the event the site’s primary connection fails. Also, the device provides RS-232 serial ports that can be accessed for OOB management of the telecommunications gear, allowing OHO Connect to monitor and manage devices remotely.
Where necessary, OHO Connect relocated the 4G antennas to optimal signal locations and used SureCall’s M2M 4G LTE booster to raise signal levels inside the property. SureCall was the best choice for this job, as it has a boxed M2M solution that provides up to 15dB gain in a complete off-the-shelf kit, from antenna to power supply, at a price-point that suits any project’s budget.
Outcome
In order to have a stable 4G LTE data connection, an LTE RSSI signal strength of -85dB to -55dB is optimal. At many locations the RF survey revealed signal strength to be -95dB to -105dB, which simply will not perform up to expectations. Following the reconfiguration with the re-placement of the antenna and the installation of the SureCall M2M booster, facilities saw a stable connection of -55dB to -75dB.
This solution enables OHO Connect to deploy SIP trunking and Hosted VoIP solutions to any property with the confidence that any degraded signal strengths can be re-mediated efficiently and in a cost effective manner. Hotel management confidence grew with each successful deployment, feeling assured their telecommunications systems were always operational and in compliance with 911 hotel laws.