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As computers and technology play an increasing role in elementary education, cellular connectivity has become more crucial in these learning environments.

While many younger school children do not require cell phones, connectivity is vital to the teachers and administrators that serve them. In the case of Lt. Eleazer Davis Elementary School in Bedford, Massachusetts, the staff was largely cut off from the world outside of the building during school hours.  

The Challenge

Specifically, the school’s principal, Beth Benoit, was cut off from communication when she was in her conference room because there was no cell signal at all in that area. “If there was an emergency and we were in that room, we would never know,” Benoit said.

The three administrators tasked with emergency backups were also cut off from communication in the many areas throughout the school without strong cell signal.

“Previously in the school there was no receiving calls and we were not able to send and receive texts,” says Max Turkewitz, network administrator for Bedford Public Schools. “There was very little cell service except for a few pockets within this particular Davis School building.”

The Solution

The need for communication by administrators into and out of the school prompted the district to look for solutions to improve the cell signal throughout the building. Turkewitz was in contact with Direct Network Services, a local integrator from Littleton, Massachusetts, who introduced him to WilsonPro solutions. The capabilities of WilsonPro Repeater Systems proved to meet the school district’s requirements.

The solution was a good fit because it was cost-effective, which is a key factor for budget-conscious schools. It met their goals of improving connectivity, and thereby increased student and staff safety throughout the building. The repeater system also gave the Davis School the ability to install amplifiers in various areas throughout the building to improve signal without requiring an invasive change to the infrastructure.

A repeater system works with existing outdoor cellular signal. It captures that signal, brings it inside, and amplifies it to provide a strong and reliable signal across the entire building.

The Bedford School District’s superintendent was familiar with WilsonPro and contracted with Direct Network Services to survey Davis and the other schools in the town, create a design of the cellular system, and install the equipment at the Davis school.

“The design was done to allow for easy expansion to the new addition when it is built,” Dan Kirkland, chief engineer at DNS said. The installation was completed in August, ahead of the start of the school year.

The project included the installation of two WilsonPro repeaters, and one outdoor directional antenna. The repeater system is a bidirectional amplifier that detects and collects cell signals that are far more faint than what can be picked up by a mobile phone. The boosters then amplify that signal to a useable level and broadcast it via 12 Omni antennas that were installed inside the school building.

“We don’t have any issues with cell coverage since the installation,” Benoit said.

Implementation of the system was simplified thanks to existing cabling throughout the building that was previously intended to amplify a specific carrier network throughout the school. The WilsonPro Repeater System proved to be much more cost effective. The existing cable was reused to support the system, which is carrier-agnostic and allow anyone on any network to benefit from an improved cellular signal.

“The project involved replacing the antenna outside, replacing booster and internal antennas inside the building. Additional cabling was used to increase the number of internal antennas.” Max said. Kirkland said that, “This enabled coverage for future use at the higher frequency bands.”

Whether or not cable exists, WilsonPro Repeater System installations typically take a fraction of the time required for a traditional active DAS installation, because there is no need to break into walls to add fiber optics or other complex infrastructure.

The Results

Once the solution was installed, Turkewitz said that Davis Elementary School saw an immediate improvement in cellular connectivity. Prior to the installation, when all district administrators were in a staff meeting within one area of the Davis building, that entire staff would be cut off from both incoming and outgoing communications. This posed a number of problems, the most obvious being that it was a safety concern.

“In those meetings with all administrators in that one area, they still need to be accessible in case of a problem at another school or any type of emergency during that time,” Turkewitz said. “And at Davis, it’s important that the principal can always make and receive calls. If the (land) phone lines coming in are jammed because there is some emergency and she needs to make a phone call out or to the superintendent’s office, that needs to be an option.” For parents, it’s also become more important for them to get touch with students and staff in the event of an emergency.

Thanks to WilsonPro, all of those communications have become a reality and administrators are able to better communicate back and forth, internally and externally.

“People now have clearer communication in more places throughout the building,” Turkewitz said.

Based on the success of the cell signal boosters at Davis, the Bedford Public Schools are planning to deploy repeater solutions at the four other schools in the district.

If you’d like to learn more about an affordable solution to solving a poor cell signal within your school or district, contact WilsonPro today.