Good quality mobile coverage in every part of your venue is essential for happy customers. Small cells are a cost-effective way to meet your customer expectations of connectivity in every part of your venue. This document aims to demonstrate how straight forward it is to install a small cell network.

Meeting roomsBusiness customers require strong connectivity from all major networks

Hotel guest room Guest wants to video-chat with family

Hotel staff productivity Hotel managers need to be on-call and accessible everywhere in the hotel

RestaurantYour customers want to share updates via social media and use location based vouchers

Connectivity in Hospitality | A guide on how to install small cells

Connectivity matters to your customers

© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2016. Registered in the UK no. 6295097© SmallCell_Forumsmallcellforum.org

Ease factor: Simple Takes no more than two hours

Ease factor: It’s not rocket science. Can be accomplished at the same time as the survey

Step one: Survey

Step two: Design

Who is going to use your small cell network and how will they use it? End-users and functions.

LTE

Wi-Fi 3G 4G

KPIs

A

Identify success metrics e.g. capacity, signal coverage, data throughput per floor area.

Establish available / required backhaul capacity.

Experiment with placement and numbers of small cells using a Portable Design tool to visualize the desired balance of coverage, data throughput and capacity. Document your design and store it for future use.

Plan connectivity to the external backhaul network – cabling and network equipment.

What are the physical parameters to plan around? Map it out.

What are the coverage and capacity requirements? Weigh them up.

What’s already in place that we need to consider? Take the walk test.

Good design = great network performance and user satisfaction and mitigates potential interference with the existing macro network.

B

C

D

A

B

C

D

Connectivity in Hospitality | A guide on how to install small cells

Small cells are easy to install

© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2016. Registered in the UK no. 6295097© SmallCell_Forumsmallcellforum.org

Ease factor: Bring in your deployment teams Takes no more than one week

Connectivity in Hospitality | A guide on how to install small cells

Small cells are easy to install

Ease factor: Centrally-stored documentation; simple technology upgrading and scalability.

Step three: Build

Step four: Maintain

A

B C

Installation Work with your Mobile Operator and/or equipment provider to mount small cells according to the design plan and connect with power and backhaul network.

Acceptance Test the small cell network to validate functionality and performance.

Commissioning Power up and activate small cells according to vendor-specific implementation and the wireless carrier’s requirements and back-end systems.

Treat enterprise small cells like a Wi-Fi network: Do NOTHING!

Don’t switch anything off. From time-to-time your service provider might drop by with a technology upgrade. Otherwise – just enjoy!

Don’t delay! Small cell networks will help your customers access the 5-bar mobile coverage they want and expect. Get in touch with your mobile operator or equipment provider to find out more.

© Small Cell Forum Ltd 2016. Registered in the UK no. 6295097© SmallCell_Forumsmallcellforum.org