Cox Business and InSite have partnered with the Las Vegas Convention Center on wireless service for customers as they navigate the venue’s 3.2 million square feet. 

AT&T, Sprint and a third major wireless carrier have signed agreements to launch this service powered by Cox and InSite on the new state-of-the-art distributed antenna system (DAS).

During the last 18 months, the LVCC, the site of the annual CES® trade show and other top-attended global conventions, has boosted the number of WiFi access points from 166 to 2,100 in order to improve onsite access to wireless data.

Most recently, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority announced that Cox Business and InSite Wireless Group will build a custom DAS to increase cellular network capacity and reliability for participating carriers inside the LVCC, one of the world’s largest exhibit halls.

The 2,100 WiFi access points, backed by redundant Cox Business 10 Gbps fiber connections, are fully operational today and the new DAS will be completed by this time next year.

Derrick R. Hill, vice president of Cox Business and Hospitality Network in Las Vegas, said, “We’ve been deploying advanced technologies at the Las Vegas Convention Center for more than two years. Now, with the support of our partners at InSite, our neutral host DAS will help ensure wireless carriers can provide their customers faster service and improved coverage, enhancing the overall convention center experience for attendees and exhibitors.”

The DAS will markedly improve the performance for smart phones and mobile devices, as well as increase the cellular carriers’ network capacity and reliability of service, providing convention center attendees with better access to high speed video streaming, HD Voice, and video calling offered by the latest 4G LTE technology.

“We at InSite are excited not only about the opportunity to partner with Cox Business and the LVCVA, but also about the DAS installation itself,” said David E. Weisman, Insite president and CEO.

He added, “Being chosen to construct and manage a system in one of the largest convention centers in the U.S.—and the home of the CES®—puts InSite’s expertise as a neutral host DAS operator in the spotlight. We’re pleased to have three of the major carriers on board, and are proud to be part of this project.”

“The trade show floor becomes a mobile office for many of our attendees making reliable cellular service critical,” said Terry Jicinsky, LVCVA senior vice president of operations.  “By upgrading the DAS, the Las Vegas Convention Center continues to enhance the customer experience.”

The DAS concept is built on the engineering principle that a linked network of low-powered, spatially separated antennas and repeaters providing overlapping coverage within the confines of an enclosed area improves cellular capabilities and reception, eliminates dropped calls and heightens the user experience.

The system is comprised of common fiber optic, radio, and antenna infrastructure that is maintained by a dedicated InSite technical staff.

Once completed, the Las Vegas Convention Center DAS will have a capacity equivalent to 14 cell sites and can accommodate all carriers to serve the wireless needs of capacity crowds at LVCVA’s largest events.

In August of 2013, Cox Business and the LVCVA signed a seven-year contract with a three-year extension to provide wired high-speed Internet networking services and equipment, wired voice services, private network options, WiFi based wireless Internet services and TV services.

The future installation of DAS capability by Cox Business partner InSite Wireless Group was part of that contract.