Internal Building Distributed Antenna System going live at Heathrow's T2
For more than 15 years affini has been delivering radio, wireless, mobile and cellular communications and IT services at London Heathrow and serves 20 UK airport operators. The company has more than 20 years’ experience in delivering end-to-end critical and real-time, commercial wireless and ICT solutions to the UK’s largest organisations.
Working alongside the UK’s largest consultant engineer, WS Atkins, affini was awarded the contract for the design of the Internal Building Distributed Antenna System (IBDAS) for T2.
The IBDAS provides a common platform that allows all radio and cellular operators to provide coverage throughout the terminal.
During the consultation phase, affini specialists worked with Heathrow Airport Ltd., Air Traffic Control; the Police; the Fire service; and all of the mobile operators, working with more than forty organisations at each stage of delivery.
The size of the terminal, the material used and the unusual shape of the roof, designed by Norman Foster, required careful cellular, wireless and radio signal modelling, to ensure optimal performance and coverage throughout the terminal.
Affini tested and measured signal coverage and used CAD and mathematical models to provide reliable, repeatable test data, providing the most realistic representation of how the integrated communications system will work in a live environment. To support future communications requirements, affini has also undertaken all of the installation design and commissioning for the airport’s own 4G/LTE infrastructure.
Commenting on the Heathrow IBDAS, Jason Colombo, affini CEO said: “Heathrow is one of the busiest airports in the world and T2 is a flagship terminal for the UK. The airport provides the first impression of this country and more than 90 million passengers are expected to use its terminals in the next year alone. It is vital that the travelling public, operational staff and retailers are provided with a reliable connection to support both personal and business-critical communications, now and in the future.”
