Dearborn County Hospital expanded and encountered poor cellular coverage within the new facility due to construction materials blocking signals. They selected Comba Telecom to provide a turnkey wireless solution. Comba designed a distributed antenna system with antennas throughout the hospital to distribute cellular signals. The system improved cellular coverage and provided support for high-speed data networks with minimal disruption during installation. The hospital was pleased with the significantly better coverage and wireless speeds provided by the Comba solution.

1. Healthcare Case Study

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The Challenge
Similar to many hospitals, Dearborn County Hospital experienced
cellular coverage issues. After researching the market, DCH
chose Comba Telecom, Inc. as their turnkey wireless solution
provider.
Dearborn County Hospital was expanded by 100,000 sq ft, which
includes a four-story inpatient bed tower, a new medical office
building, housing for four hospital-based physician practices, a
sleep center, and an employee fitness center. The hospital
management strives to provide the best technology and
communications in the new facility; however, they encountered
challenges on their wireless network.

3. Copyright © 2014 Comba Telecom Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.combausa.com
The Challenge
“Like many hospitals around the United States we encountered poor cellular
coverage,” said Jim Dillard, Senior Material Manager at the Dearborn County
Hospital. The biggest contributing factors are typically the construction of the hospital
where the emitted radiation from X-ray machines and similar equipment need to be
kept as isolated as possible. The end result is that unless the hospital is located near
a cell tower, cellular coverage within the hospital will often be nonexistent, which was
also the case for Dearborn County Hospital.
The demand for high speed data communication in 4G LTE networks continues to
grow rapidly. The growing use of wireless in the hospital also dramatically increases
the peak power produced by the new modulation. Consequently, this makes the DAS
sensitive to PIM performance. A DAS with inferior PIM performance will face serious
issues in network reliability, data rates, and capacities.

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The Comba Total Solution
Comba worked closely with the hospital to provide a customized solution
design. The design aims to solve the cell phone coverage problem, and meet
the growing demand of high speed data and voice communications. Comba’s
modular design products give users the flexibility and potential for future
network upgrades.
The complete (DAS) Distributed Antenna System includes one Modular Bi-
Directional Amplifier (MBDA), one ComFlex DAS Master Unit (MU) and five
ComFlex low powered Remote Units (LRU), distributing radio frequency (RF)
signals to 32 antennas strategically located throughout the hospital. The
Comba DAS system serves design scope of 700 lower ABC, 700 Upper C,
Cellular and PCS bands for both Verizon and AT&T, 4G LTE and 3G.

5. Copyright © 2014 Comba Telecom Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.combausa.com
The Comba Total Solution
Unique to Comba, the ComFlex DAS and MBDA are designed with “industry first”
Mini-DIN connectors to achieve superior PIM performance. Together with Comba
PIM rated passive components and professional installation, the hospital DAS PIM
is less than -153dBc, measured at 43dBm. This ensures maximum system network
reliability, data rates and capacities, in turn maximizing the hospital’s return on
investment.
The ComFlex DAS and MBDA utilize Comba’s web-based GUI, allowing technicians
and engineers to have easy access to the system, for quick and convenient
commissioning after the installation. With the Comba system’s remote capabilities,
personnel can continue to monitor the network and provide immediate support, with
zero disruption to the hospital, any time after the installation.

6. Comba Products
Comba ComFlex DAS
Distributed Antenna System
Comba MBDA
Modular Bi-Directional
Amplifier
Comba PIM Rated
Passive Components
Comba Indoor Antennas

7. “As a busy hospital, we really
appreciate the minimum
construction interruption and
great project punctuality. We
are very pleased with the
significantly improved cell
phone coverage and wireless
data speed. ”
Jim Dillard
Senior Material Manager
Dearborn County Hospital