The importance of first responders being able to communicate deep within a building during an emergency was highlighted when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center eight years ago. Firefighters lost communication with each other in the high-rise buildings. The problem is all too common across the nation, prompting local governments to pass ordinances or other laws that require building owners to ensure access to public-safety wireless networks inside their buildings.

The detailed ordinances needed to accommodate in-building public-safety communications are expected to proliferate now that international and domestic fire codes, the latter created by the National Fire Protection Association, were finalized this year. The codes offer a framework for individual governments to follow when drafting their own in-building codes.

“A national code cuts the task down considerably for local governments,” said in-building communications expert Jack Daniel. “It's a painful process to have to develop the code and all of the technical requirements yourself. When it's national, that part is handed to you.”

Rick Swiers, vice president of business development with in-building integrator TriPower, estimates that some 150 local governments are enforcing some type of in-building public-safety ordinance for buildings of larger sizes and occupancies. But that doesn't mean building owners are required to deploy in-building systems. Rather, they must demonstrate to have a certain amount of coverage of public-safety signals, which can be accomplished by penetrating the building from outside, said Matt Melester, an in-building communications expert and group president of the wireless innovations group with Andrew Solutions.

Nevertheless, the wave is coming, Melester said. “We've seen the front-end of the wave, but we expect it to increase in the next two to three years.”

Major Modifications

Las Vegas is a particular hotbed, as casinos and their windowless worlds essentially keep wireless signals from penetrating their walls. Orange County, Calif., and in particular the city of Irvine, has been one of the more aggressive regions of the country when it comes to in-building communications mandates in light of a building boom, Daniel said.

“Most ordinances refer to new buildings and anything that is a major modification of that structure — basically anything that would cause a building owner to go back and apply for a building permit would be a trigger for compliance,” Daniel said. “In most cases, existing structures don't have to, unless the fire marshal demands it.”

Swiers believes hospitals and hotels in many areas of the country will be the first targets of these stricter coverage requirements because of their high density of occupants.

But the proliferation of in-building public-safety communications systems may very well move as slowly as in-building sprinklers, which took about 20 years as building owners balked at the cost, Melester said.

“The real challenge is how to fund these systems,” Melester said. “I liken it a lot to when they required sprinklers in buildings. First it was in all new buildings and then it was required for existing structures, and no one wanted to spend that money at the beginning. But everyone wants one when there is a fire. Public-safety communications will be the same way. It's an additional expense, an insurance policy that you feel like you are spending money for nothing until an event happens when you need it.”

Indeed, Daniel said many building owners are experiencing sticker shock when they find out the price tag of a distributed antenna system with accompanying FCC-approved signal boosters, a stipulation that is specified in the NFPA code.

“Their first reaction is: ‘I'm not going to spend $100,000. I'm going to pick up my building and move to another town,’” Daniel said.

Daniel said industry estimates put public-safety in-building communications at $0.50 to $0.75 per square foot. Many businesses would prefer to include public-safety and commercial communications together, but the price tag shoots up to about $1.50 per square foot, according to estimates from the Building Owners and Managers Association.

Much of that cost has to do with the inherent complexity of the DAS, which requires expensive equipment, engineering and testing. Moreover, cities want certified equipment and certified installers to be used and a building owner has to find a certified system designer as well. However, no uniform certification process exists, and requirements very based on locality; indeed, just one nationally recognized organization, Global Educational Services, certifies installers, creating a shortage of qualified people. Consequently, Daniel is developing his own certification program.