Axel Towers, a multi-purpose building in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen, implemented technology from U.S. Communications infrastructure provider JMA Wireless to improve its indoor wireless capabilities.
Axel Towers includes 23,000 square meters of space above ground and 14,000 square meters below ground.
To ensure superior cellular connectivity, Denmark’s largest technical installation company, Kemp & Lauritzen, deployed the multi-carrier, multi-band TEKO DAS (distributed antenna system) platform from JMA Wireless.
Axel Towers was designed to meet Danish sustainability standards. The buildings are certified as “low building energy class 15” according to the Danish building standard BR 10. This standard defines a maximum energy consumption of 41 kHw/m2 of heated floor area per year to cover heat loss, ventilation, cooling, domestic hot water and lighting.
In order to be classified as an energy-efficient building, low emissivity or “low-e” glass was installed. This type of glass provides superior energy efficiency thanks to a special coating. However, this coating presents a challenge for in-building mobile communications because it impedes cellular signals to and from the macro network. Copper, another material prevalent throughout Axel Towers, also presented an obstacle to mobile communications, because this highly conductive material naturally blocks cell signals from entering or leaving buildings.
Axel Towers are located right in the center of Copenhagen, near the Tivoli Gardens amusement park, the Circus Building, and the shopping district. This central location posed another issue known to mobile operators as “densification.” Densification is a highly concentrated area of mobile subscribers with a high demand for cellular connectivity. Therefore, it was critical that the wireless network support a variety of bands and carriers.
TEKO DAS currently supports four mobile operators (TDC, 3, Telia, and Telenor) and the 1800, 2100, and 2600 MHz bands. Along with the master unit (MU), three high-power remote units (RUs) were deployed onsite to enable robust mobile communications. Each RU uses a single optical fiber to connect back to the master unit to transport all three bands.
“We realized that this architectural phenomenon in Copenhagen will require the best in cellular connectivity; therefore, we turned to JMA Wireless,” said Michael Balslev, section manager at Kemp & Lauritzen. “The Teko DAS platform will fulfill easily the wireless demands of tenants and visitors now and in the future.”
