BDA (Bi-Directional Amplifier) Distributed Antenna System

After 9/11, many localities enacted ordinances making it mandatory to meet wireless signal strength standards on first responder frequencies. Most public safety radios operate on 450 MHz, 700 MHz and 800 MHz bands.

Public safety personnel such as firefighters and policemen require a reliable wireless network to communicate whether by voice or by data content. This is especially true in critical areas such as stairwells, where unaided radio frequency signals are weakest. For these reasons, in-building amplification systems are already being required in certain municipalities.

It is literally a matter of life and death when a firefighter is in a building trying to communicate with his or her team outdoors. The National Fire Protection Association has enacted ordinances requiring minimum levels of coverage for Public Safety communication within new buildings. In 2009, two national fire codes – the National Fire Protection Association and the International Fire Code – addressed the need for an in-building system such as “I-BAND”. These codes are adopted in municipalities across the country. One notable example is Clark County, Nevada, which last year adopted and expanded on Appendix J of the IFC to require amplification systems, such as a public safety DAS system, to achieve a required level of radio coverage. We expect this trend to continue and ultimately become a requirement under all municipal fire codes.