BDA General Guidelines for 800 MHz DAS Deployment v4.4.pdf

ITD Radio Division

General Guidelines for the Deployment of In-Building 800 MHz Radio Coverage Solutions Version 4.4, September 2018

The following document should be presented to the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) to confirm that there are no discrepancies with any local ordinance or code. In case of discrepancies, the local ordinance or code will prevail unless the AHJ decides differently.

Specifically in Miami-Dade County, the AHJ is the Fire Marshal’s Office. Please contact this agency for details and requirements about DAS deployments.

Important Notice

1) Many municipalities in the region make use of the Miami-Dade County’s 800 MHz radio system. Even if the municipality has its own Building and Zoning Department, it may still be using the 800 MHz County radio system. In order to confirm the appropriate 800 MHz Public Safety band to be used in a given location, the Designer/Installer of the new DAS should contact Miami-Dade County Radio Division, Attn: Ramiro Diaz, (Ramiro.Diaz@miamidade.gov) to confirm the appropriate 800 MHz frequency band to be amplified in the new building.

2) In order to establish if a new building requires a radio coverage solution, the Building Owner or General Contractor must produce (through a qualified company) a preliminary assessment or baseline report of the indoor radio signal. The report should include floor plans showing the radio signal levels throughout the facility, as well as recommendations of the areas (if any) where radio signal improvement is required.

For the baseline readings, as per the MDFR In-Building Public Safety Radio Enhancement System Notice dated on July 3rd, 2018, prior to any testing, the occupancy shall be structurally completed with all interior partitions, windows and doors installed.

In Miami-Dade County, and as an optional service, the Fire Marshal’s Office and ITD Radio Division conduct preliminary inspections to determine if a new facility requires radio signal enhancement. These preliminary inspections are conducted upon request once a permit process is in place.

For 800 MHz, Miami-Dade County ITD Radio Division shall review the baseline report produced by the Building Owner or General Contractor.

Please send the report to Ramiro.Diaz@miamidade.gov.

1. Objective

The purpose of this document is to provide general guidance for the deployment of an in-building solution to enable Public Safety Radio Communications in the Miami Dade County 800 MHz frequency band.

The in-building solution shall allow the Public Safety agencies to properly communicate inside the facility in question.

This document does not constitute a Design or Construction Plan, and does not substitute or supersede partially or entirely any guidelines, codes or specifications coming from the AHJ where the in-building solution is being deployed.

Contractor Qualifications

The Contractor shall be able to demonstrate previous experience in deployments of in-building radio coverage solutions for Public Safety systems, specifically in 450 MHz and 800 MHz.

To ensure personnel safety, all construction tasks shall be conducted in accordance with OSHA safety and/or local safety regulations (whichever is more stringent). Contractors must comply with applicable Federal, State and Local Codes and requirements, including the Florida Building Code. All site development and equipment installation work shall comply with all applicable codes in use by the Authority Having Jurisdiction. Government and local codes shall take precedence over the requirements of this document provided they offer added safety.

The Contractor shall be knowledgeable and adhere to the industry standards and codes, including respective amendments listed below. It is strongly advisable to verify with the AHJ what specific version of the codes and standards listed below are being enforcing in the jurisdiction in question.

NFPA 1, National Fire Protection Association Fire Code

NFPA 101, Life Safety Code

NFPA 1221, Standard for the Installation, Maintenance and use of Emergency Services Communication Systems

NFPA 70, National Fire Protection Code or “National Electrical Code”

NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code

NFPA 780, “Standard for the Installation of Lightning Protection Systems”

Harris, “Site Grounding and Lightning Protection Guidelines”

Motorola R-56, “Standards and Guidelines for Communication Sites”

TIA Bulletin TSB-88.1-C, Wireless Communications Systems Performance in Noise- Limited Situations, Part 1: Recommended Methods for Technology-Independent Performance Modeling

Florida Building Code

ANSI/TIA-222-G, Structural Standard for Antenna Supporting Structures and Antennas

IEEE STD 142 “Green Book”, “Recommended Practice for Grounding of Industrial and Commercial Power Systems”

ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-C, “Commercial Building Telecommunications Cabling Standard

ANSI/TIA/EIA-569-B, “Commercial Building Standards for Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces”

ANSI/TIA/EIA-606, “The Administration Standard for the Telecommunications Infrastructure of Commercial Building”

ANSI/TIA/EIA-607, “Commercial Building Grounding and Bonding Requirements for Telecommunications”

All other applicable Federal, State and Local Building Codes and Requirements

2. General Scope of Work

The Designer/Installer shall provide a “turn-key” solution for the design, installation and testing of an in-building RF coverage system capable of satisfying the following coverage requirements:

For the downlink signal, a minimum signal strength of negative (-) 95 dBm throughout the entire facility with a DAQ of 3.4 or better, is required 100 % of the time.

For General Building Areas, the in-building RF solution shall provide the above-specified coverage in 90% of the floor space. General Building Areas are defined as living areas, basements, parking garages, administrative offices, and conference rooms.

For Critical Areas, the in-building RF solution shall provide the above-specified coverage in 99% of the floor space. Critical Areas are defined as mechanical and utility rooms, public bathrooms, “Employee Only” rooms, stairwells, exit stairs, exit passageways, police holding areas, elevator lobbies, fire pump rooms, sprinkler valve locations, and other sections of the building considered by the AHJ. The Designer/Installer shall contact the AHJ to confirm Critical Areas in the new construction.

Testing the uplink signal of a DAS is a difficult task for the Contractor since it would imply conducting measurements directly in the infrastructure of the Public Safety radio system. Refer to Section 9, on page 6 of this document (“Test Procedures and Measurement Parameters”) for suggestions on this topic.

The system shall provide the required coverage in the frequency bands or channels specified by the AHJ.

The specific case of Miami-Dade County, the downlink and uplink frequency bands for the 800 MHz Public Safety signal booster are 851-854 MHz and 806-809 MHz respectively.

In Miami-Dade County, due to the significant amount of Public Safety channels in 800 MHz, a Class B BDA should be used for this application.

To obtain information about a benchmarking/monitoring frequency in the Miami-Dade 800 MHz band, and for questions about in-building solutions in 800 MHz, please contact Ramiro Diaz, ITD Miami-Dade County-Radio Division at Ramiro.Diaz@miamidade.gov.

The in-building Public Safety radio coverage system and other radio systems operating within or near the facility shall not interfere with each other.

Signal boosters shall be FCC-type accepted and must operate in accordance with FCC rules.

As per FCC regulations, for a Class B signal booster, it is the responsibility of the Contractor to register the booster directly with the FCC before activating the unit.

In addition, the Contractor must obtain consent of the licensee(s) whose signals are intended to amplify. Please refer to the following links for more information:

https://apps.fcc.gov/cores/userLogin.do www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/signal-boosters/part- 90-signal-boosters

Upon completion of the project, a copy of the FCC registration of the Class B signal booster, along with a Retransmission Agreement must be submitted to Miami-Dade County ITD-Radio Division, Attn: Ramiro Diaz (Ramiro.Diaz@miamidade.gov). Please find a sample of a Retransmission Agreement on page 10.

The signal booster shall be installed in a NEMA 4 (or 4X) enclosure with locking mechanism.

Maximum VSWR measured in any RF branch of the DAS shall be better than 1.5:1 (14 dB Return Loss).

3. System Survivability

Before designing and deploying a DAS, it is strongly advisable to consult with the AHJ the requirements for system survivability that are enforced in the specific jurisdiction.

4. Electrical Power Requirements

All active components of the DAS shall be powered via dedicated (“home run”) and generator protected electrical circuits.

NEMA twist-lock electrical plugs and receptacles shall be utilized to connect the active components of the DAS to the AC power.

It is strongly advisable to verify with the AHJ other specific requirements concerning this topic.

5. Alarm and Monitoring System

An automatic monitoring system and panel are required so the new DAS can be constantly monitored. The system must monitor and produce an alarm in the event of antennae, signal booster, or power source malfunction. It is advisable to consult with the AHJ specifics of the alarms to be monitored and location of the alarm panel.

The selected signal booster shall be capable of “AGC Overdrive” and “Oscillation Control” features. This includes, but is not limited to, an alarm and automatic shutdown for oscillating amplifiers. These features are intended to minimize interference due to oscillation of the signal booster(s).

Power supplies must, at a minimum, alarm at loss of normal ac power, failure of the battery charger, and low battery charge (defined as 70% of capacity).

6. Propagation Delay

For the Miami-Dade County 800 MHz system, the maximum allowed radio signal propagation delay introduced by an in-building coverage solution must not exceed 15 s.

If a delay greater than 15 s is expected by design, then further analysis should be conducted in conjunction with the AHJ to evaluate potential signal degradation in areas where the direct signal coming from a radio site coincides with the DAS output signal.

7. Exterior (Donor) Antenna System

The orientation of the exterior (donor) antenna shall be determined in coordination with the

AHJ.

If required by FAA regulations, obstruction lighting and/or marking shall be installed.

All exterior antennas are to be narrowband, high-gain, vertically polarized and designed for the specified frequency band. Yagi or corner reflector-type antennas are recommended.

Wideband/multiband donor antennas are not acceptable.

As per Motorola R56 and Harris guidelines, the installation of the donor antenna, including the shield of the coaxial cable shall be suitably connected to the building's electrical ground system at the base of the antenna mast and at a coaxial lightning protector.

If more than one donor antenna is to be installed in a single rooftop mast, then appropriate vertical separation between antennas must be considered. This requirement is valid even if the donor antennas are intended for different frequency bands.

A weatherized coaxial lightning protector designed for the proper frequency band shall be installed in the coaxial feed of the donor antenna outside the facility.

For more details about the deployment of the donor antenna, please see attached drawing showing a typical rooftop antenna installation.

Typical requirements for coaxial lightning protectors are the following:

Impedance: 50 Frequency range: as needed to the respective bands VSWR: 1.1:1 or better Insertion Loss: 0.1 dB or better Impulse Discharge Current : 10KA or better Turn-on voltage: 600 V Turn-on Time: 2.5 nS for 2kV/nS Energy Throughput Rating: 5 nJoule for 3 kA (8/20 S waveform) Continuous handling RF power: 100 W or better at the respective frequency bands

A rooftop antenna installation shall meet the wind loading requirements of the South Florida Building Code and ANSI/TIA-222-G or other code adopted by the AHJ.

8. In-Building Antennas

The in-building antenna system shall consist of a sufficient but not excessive number of in-door antennas. They shall be distributed in a wise manner within the building to meet the coverage criteria previously specified for Critical and General Building areas.

Splitters and any other active or passive components installed in locations other than communication closets shall be mounted in a separate color code junction box conspicuously located so as to be easily accessible for maintenance while maintaining them secure from unauthorized tampering. In addition, please check with the AHJ requirements for system survivability in reference to all components of the DAS.

9. Test Procedures and Measurement Parameters

System Isolation Once the donor and the in-door antennas of the DAS are in place, and before turning up the active components of the DAS, the very first test the Contractor shall perform is to verify that the isolation between the donor and the in-door antennas is at least 20 dB greater than the maximum gain of the BDA as specified by the manufacturer.

Downlink Signal Strength Measurements

The readings of the downlink signal levels shall be measured following the methodology required by the AHJ.

For 800 MHz in Miami-Dade County, please contact ITD-Radio Division, Ramiro Diaz (Ramiro.Diaz@miamidade.gov) for information about benchmarking downlink frequency.

Uplink

Testing the uplink signal of a Public Safety DAS is a difficult task for the Contractor since it would imply conducting measurements directly in the infrastructure of the Public Safety radio system.

Calculations of the link budget may be used to estimate the necessary gain in the uplink to produce a signal strength of -95 dBm at the donor site. However, as a rule of thumb it is advisable to set the uplink gain of the DAS at values ranging between 10-20 dB less than the downlink gain.

During the final RF inspection, the uplink will probably need to be modified. Therefore, the Installer or Contractor Project Manager must be ready to perform changes in the settings of the BDA as needed.

10. Acceptance Test by the AHJ

The Contractor should coordinate the acceptance test of the DAS, as part of the regular permitting process through the AHJ.

During the final acceptance test of the system, the AHJ will probably perform random voice tests and RSSI measurements throughout the entire facility.

The purpose of the tests is to verify if the in-building solution complies with the design criteria previously established in Section 2, on pages 3 and 4 of this document (“General Scope of Work”).

The AHJ will decide what areas of the building will be tested for RSSI and voice quality.

During the acceptance test of the system, the AHJ may request a re-adjustment of the uplink and/or the downlink gain(s) of the DAS.

The AHJ might also request a test of the UPS and the alarm and monitoring systems.

11. Designer/Contractor Responsibilities

Survey the facility to demonstrate the necessity of an in-building solution in the new building and submit benchmarking results and corresponding Scope of Work to the AHJ

Design, commissioning and testing of an in-building RF coverage solution that guarantees a minimum RF signal level of -95 dBm and 3.4 DAQ throughout the facility and attached structures under the conditions described in this document or as per the conditions specified by the AHJ

Obtain the necessary permits

Record all appropriate signal levels after the system implementation as previously detailed. Prepare and submit to the AHJ “Before and After” floor plans showing signal levels.

Address any in-building coverage issue discovered during the Acceptance Test

Address any report of RF interference related to the new DAS installation

Provide the Building Owner with project documentation including but not limited to “As-built” documentation, system documents, technical manuals, RF system isolation, return loss or VSWR readings of the RF lines, diagrams showing equipment placement and routing for antennas, coaxial cables, fiber optics interconnections and AC power

12. Building Owner Responsibilities

Keep record of the project documentation including but not limited to “As-built” documentation, system documents, technical manuals, return loss or VSWR readings of the RF lines, system isolation, diagrams showing equipment placement and routing for antennas, coaxial cables, fiber optics interconnections and AC power

Have in place a service contract with a qualified Vendor for technical maintenance, repair (including all components of the system), operation and troubleshooting in the event of radio interference involving the in-building radio coverage solution

The Building Owner shall provide the contact information of the System Maintenance Vendor to the AHJ, so this entity can work directly with the Vendor in case of troubleshooting due to an interference event

Provide the AHJ with continuous access to the facility for purposes of testing of the Public Safety radio signal

13. Important Note

The drawing on the following page refers to the deployment of a single antenna in a rooftop mast. If two antennas are co-located on the same mast, and even if the frequency bands of those antennas are different, then appropriate vertical separation between antennas must be considered in order to achieve some degree of isolation between them.

SAMPLE – RETRANSMISSION AGREEMENT

Date: __________________

Retransmission Agreement For

WPGD547

Miami-Dade Public Safety/Emergency Response 806-809/851-854 MHz

To: From:

Cindy M. Cast John Smith Radio Systems Manager DAS Outstanding Services Co.

Miami-Dade County 100 NW 55 Avenue Information Technology Dept. Miami, Florida 33123 5680 SW 87 Avenue Phone: ______________ Miami, Florida 33101 E-mail: ______________

Location of the Signal Booster:

4444 SW 90th Avenue Miami, Florida 33145

Building Owner:

ABC Signature Co.

99 NE 3rd Court Miami, Florida 33167 Contact person: ______________ Phone: ____________

Equipment Installed FCC Booster Registration Manufacturer: _____________ FRN: _______________ Model: ________________ Booster ID: ___________

FCC ID: _________________

In compliance with FCC Part 90, we request permission to retransmit the frequencies for callsign WPGD547. We understand that if radio-interference is caused from the location described above, our company, “DAS Outstanding Services Co.” will fully comply with all FCC regulations and will address and resolve the interference issue.

Sincerely, Approved by:

John Smith, Director Cindy M. Cast DAS Outstanding Services Co. MDC, ITD Radio Division

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