Healthcare professionals in modern hospitals rely on good wireless connectivity for their in-house communication and access to patient data. However, mobile networks can be overwhelmed by staff, patients and visitors, or weakened by building materials such as concrete and steel.
Reliable mobile coverage
A distributed antenna system (DAS) is a network of antenna nodes that provides wireless mobile coverage. In hospitals, a DAS works independently of the Wi-Fi network to ensure redundancy – which ensures mobile communications by not being dependent on one single system.
“Bearing in mind the importance of wireless connectivity in the countless medical cases and emergencies that hospitals have to deal with every day, they simply cannot rely on one single means of mobile communication,” explains Lars Jessen, Business Development Manager at Eltel.
“Hospitals need to have guaranteed 24/7 connectivity with good capacity and coverage throughout the entire hospital. We provide this with the DAS systems that we install and maintain.”
The DAS antennas are installed in the ceilings of corridors and a hospital network can include hundreds of antennas, depending on the size of the facility. It is important to have a dense network of antennas in hospitals to provide good mobile coverage and also minimise interference with medical equipment.
Long-term partnerships
By the end of 2022, Eltel had entered into agreements with more than 20 hospitals in Denmark, including six in the Copenhagen metropolitan area. This included a DAS installation and maintenance contract at one of Denmark’s newest hospitals – the Nyt Hospital Nordsjælland.
“All our hospital DAS projects typically involve installation and maintenance over a six-year period,” says Lars. “We develop strong professional relationships with each hospital, which also involve adapting the network to meet their ever-changing needs, for example, by expanding the network to include new hospital buildings.”
Photo: ©Herzog & de Meuron - Vilhelm Lauritzen Arkitekter.
Key facts
Clients: Regional authorities
Services: Installation and servicing of DAS networks
Period: Various ongoing projects
