Vodacom partners with Andrew for 'indoor wireless coverage'
CommScope today announced that Vodacom has selected Andrew, through its South African affiliate company, Systems Designs, to furnish its indoor wireless coverage and capacity solution, the ION (Intelligent Optical Network) fiber distributed antenna system, in five of the 10 South African stadiums to be used for the 2010 World Cup.
Andrew has been involved in similar projects that have supported wireless communications at major sporting events including the 2008 European Football Championship in Switzerland, 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, 2006 World Cup in Germany, 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Andrew’s multi-operator ION-M optical distributed antenna system supports current GSM 900/1800 and UMTS frequency bands as well as next generation LTE and WiMAX networks. The systems’ basic architecture involves fiber optic and coaxial cables, master and remote units, and other subsystem products that receive and transmit signals from dedicated operator base stations to customer handhelds throughout the facility.
The five South African stadiums for which Andrew is supporting Vodacom with ION-M equipment are Moses Mabida in Durban, Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg, Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein, Mbombela in Nelspruit, and Loftus in Pretoria.
System installation at three of the stadiums was completed in time for the recently-concluded 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. Andrew expects all stadiums to be completed in advance of the start of the World Cup on June 11, 2010.
“Network operators and global equipment manufacturers rely on Andrew’s market-leading wireless solutions to provide clear, reliable RF communications to customers wherever they are,” said Andrew’s Dennis Mugwanya, vice president of sales and marketing, Africa.
“That includes sporting arenas, convention centers, airports, high-speed railways, subways, or anywhere else subscribers want to enjoy wireless voice and data services. The Confederations Cup matches showed how important reliable voice and data connectivity is to spectators, as they share the fun and passion of the matches with each other and friends in distant locations via wireless texting, calling and multimedia.”
Vodacom & Andrew partnership – comments and views
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