The facility is built for security. Cellular signal still needs to get in.
Cellular coverage for mission-critical facilities
A data center is engineered to keep the outside out - poured concrete, structural steel, EMI shielding, no windows by design, and whole halls below grade. All of it stops a cellular signal at the door. The compute and storage run on infrastructure the operator owns; the people do not. Technicians, security, vendors and first responders move through the building on their own phones, on carriers the operator does not run.
That is a safety problem before it is a convenience one. A lone technician in a hot aisle has to be able to call for help. ANDREW® brings the mobile operators’ networks inside and distributes them across data halls, below-grade plant, meet-me rooms, docks and generator yards. Whether the answer is a building-wide distributed antenna system (DAS), targeted small cells or both, ANDREW designs it as a true neutral-host foundation - energy-efficient and ready to scale.
Challenges and opportunities
In a building engineered to block a signal, reliable coverage underpins uptime, safety and operations. Here is where it matters most.
Safety
The people who keep a data center running work alone, around high voltage and high heat, in spaces built to block a signal. Reliable coverage lets a lone worker call for help and an emergency call pinpoint exactly where they are.
Operations
When something goes wrong, minutes matter. Technicians, vendors and on-call engineers coordinate across the floor, down the levels and out to the plant.
Security
The guard force, escorts and contractors coordinate across a footprint measured in acres, on their own phones - and the perimeter, docks and yards need coverage as much as the halls do.
Built for RF-hostile environments
ANDREW solutions are engineered for the parts of a data center the building works hardest to seal.
Data halls and white space wall-to-wall with racks and steel.
Below-grade levels including electrical rooms and battery/UPS spaces.
Meet-me rooms, cages and secure suites where signal penetration is limited.
Loading docks, staging and back-of-house areas used by staff and vendors.
Generator yards, fuel farms and outdoor plant beyond the main building.
Multi-building campuses measured in millions of square feet.
Proven at scale
ANDREW’s all-digital platform is proven at scale - including the first all-digital DAS with all-digital operator connectivity, live across all three major U.S. operators through all major RAN vendors on one system.
ERA® preserves signal fidelity end-to-end while reducing equipment, space, power and cooling requirements in uptime-critical facilities.
All carriers • Neutral host • 4G and 5G
Universal 4G/5G coverage for all carriers on a true neutral-host foundation.
Worker safety and E911 location in a building engineered to block a signal.
Up to 90%
less headend space
Up to 55%
lower power and cooling
Designed to scale
Coverage designed for large footprints, multiple buildings and continuous expansion.
Neutral-host infrastructure that supports staff, customers, vendors and multiple carriers.
Reliable cellular coverage for operations teams, contractors and emergency response.
Coverage that reaches people working around dense racks, steel and high-heat infrastructure.
Targeted coverage and capacity for compact, distributed and difficult-to-reach sites.
One scalable platform across halls, plant, yards, offices and the spaces between them.
The ANDREW advantage
ANDREW delivers reliable, all-digital 4G/5G across the world’s most demanding in-building environments - including hyperscale, colocation and enterprise data centers - backed by more than a decade of digital DAS.
Our comprehensive offering for data centers spans the ERA® DAS platform, ONECELL® in-building small cells and expert design and support - from a single hall to a hyperscale campus.
Partnering with ANDREW means wireless technology built for long-term simplicity, efficiency and sustainability - through 5G and beyond.
Featured solutions
ANDREW brings reliable 4G/5G inside with DAS and small cells, reaching data halls, below-grade plant and outdoor yards in a building built to block a signal.
ANDREW indoor solutions deliver the reliability lone-worker safety and emergency response depend on - from the hottest aisle to the lowest level.
Featured resources
Brochure · CO-200824-EN
See how ANDREW delivers reliable 4G/5G coverage and safety across hyperscale, colocation and enterprise facilities.
Brochure · CO-200342
Take control of your cellular experience with simple, scalable indoor LTE and 5G coverage.
Blog · 6 minute read
See why planning indoor cellular coverage during initial data center design can reduce retrofit complications and support day-one operations.
Common questions
Answers about signal penetration, DAS, small cells, carriers, Wi-Fi and below-grade coverage.
The macro network was built to cover ground, not to get through it. Poured concrete, structural steel, EMI shielding, no windows and rows of racks stop the signal. Adding towers outside does not fix a building designed to keep the outside out.
A DAS distributes every operator’s network across a large or complex building on one shared system; a small cell adds focused cellular capacity in a specific area. ANDREW offers both - the ERA® DAS platform and ONECELL® in-building small cells - and helps match the right approach, or a combination, to your facility or campus.
Yes. ANDREW’s platform is one infrastructure, approved by global operators, carrying public cellular, private networks and public safety from pre-4G through 5G - and it is live across all three major U.S. operators.
Yes - they do different jobs. Wi-Fi supports the networks and systems the operator owns. A DAS or small cell brings the mobile operators’ cellular networks to staff, vendors, contractors and responders on their own phones. Cellular also carries E911 with accurate location, Wireless Emergency Alerts and public-safety communications.
Yes. Those sealed, RF-hostile spaces are exactly the design target, so technicians, security and responders keep coverage from the hottest aisle to the lowest level.
Proven. ANDREW’s all-digital DAS is operating at scale today on more than a decade of digital deployments, and is first to connect all three major U.S. operators, across every major RAN vendor, digitally on one DAS - deployed at scale, not promised on a roadmap.
Let’s discuss how ANDREW can help get you there.