Regulating DAS Developments: Making Small Cells Work in a Macro World

Abstract

We are all familiar with the 120‐ to 200‐foot towers and monopoles with their triangular antenna arrays that have come to dot our landscape over the last 20 years. While these “macro” cell sites are not going away any time in the foreseeable future, new small cell deployments, known as DAS, or Distributed Antenna Systems, are increasingly being used by carriers and infrastructure providers to fill in coverage gaps and increase system capacity in congested areas. DAS equipment requires less power and can be located closer in proximity to its end users, often utilizing small form-factor antennas that can easily blend into their surroundings.