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NASCOWs at the speedway New NASCAR series sponsor, Nextel Communications, deploys a groundbreaking mobile cellular coverage solution founded on RFS’s unique Optimizer RT remote tilt technology. Even as the thunder of engines roars through the air, NASCAR race-goers need cellular coverage. Whether it’s the building excitement associated with Matt Kenseth’s quest to win consecutive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series titles, or Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s drive for his first championship, Nextel is determined that all NASCAR fans will be able to talk about it—using their mobile phones. Nextel Communications is one of the USA’s top six national wireless carriers, and operates the largest Motorola integrated digital enhanced network (iDEN) in the country. In June 2003, Nextel signed a which they occur at different venues thousands of miles apart, demanded a more comprehensive and robust solution. To meet these requirements, Nextel engineers began development of the largest mobile cell sites seen anywhere in the world—and dubbed them ‘NASCOWs’. Radio Frequency Systems was introduced into the project in late 2003. For the 16 CELLULAR Each mast on the Nextel COWs has three RFS Optimizer APXV antennas with remote tilt to streamline coverage optimization. 10-year agreement for the title sponsorship of NASCAR’s premier series—to take effect in 2004. The company immediately embarked upon a project to deliver consistent cellular coverage at all NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races. Since NASCAR holds its events around the USA at more than 23 race tracks—including the famous Daytona International and Indianapolis Motor Speedways—a portable cellular coverage solution was required. The mobile cell sites also needed to be flexible and sophisticated enough to accommodate the dramatic variation in racetrack size and topography—not to mention unpredictable peaks in mobile phone usage. NASCOWs The conventional means of providing coverage at large public events is to deploy mobile base stations—often dubbed ‘cells on wheels’ or COWs—which are used to augment existing networks for the duration of an event. However, the sheer scale of the NASCAR races, and the regularity with past three years, RFS has been working closely with Nextel as a key wireless solutions provider, delivering antennas, codeveloped Autotuner combiners, and assorted RF conditioning products for the operator’s 800-MHz time division multiple access (TDMA)-based iDEN network. “Nextel met head-on a fast-track project,” says Dick Cullinan, RFS Key Account Manager. “They had to conceive and build two NASCOWs and eight junior COWs (nicknamed ‘SUPERCOWs’) in just three months. Due to predicted optimization challenges, they had already decided to use remote tilt antenna control; so we demonstrated our Optimizer RT remote tilt solution, and Nextel decided it would be the right solution for the job. They had already been using standard Optimizer antennas in many of their markets.” According to Cullinan, the NASCOWs are self-contained 53-foot (16-metre) trailers featuring dual pneumatic antenna masts— essentially comprising two base stations. At each major NASCAR race, one NASCOW, plus three or four smaller (single-mast) SUPERCOWs, are deployed around the speedway. “Each mast has three of our Optimizer APXV antennas with remote tilt,” Cullinan says. “It’s just like having six base stations surrounding the racetrack.” Fine-tuning via remote tilt The use of remote antenna tilt greatly expedites deployment and optimization of these temporary network extensions. Cullinan explains that the NASCOW and SUPERCOWs are hauled to the site a few days before each race event to allow time for wireless coverage to be established and optimized. After raising the antenna mast, the engineers then sit within the control room and finetune the antenna tilt via a computer connection. “Using RFS Optimizer RT technology, they could adjust the antenna tilt of all COWs deployed around the track from a single terminal,” says Cullinan. “This provides a great deal of flexibility and saves a lot of
NASCAR (‘National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing’) is the fastest growing spectator sport in the world, and is ranked second only to the American National Football League (NFL) in television ratings and audience. In fact, 17 of the top 20 highest attended sporting events in the US are NASCAR races—in some instances crowds of 200,000 flock to the race track for fast and furious entertainment CELLULAR 17 time—particularly when they have to pack it up and do it all again somewhere else the following week!” He adds that coverage optimization can be somewhat challenging at the race tracks, especially since if there are nearby permanent base stations, it is important that the temporary cells do not interfere with their signals. This means the footprint has to be exactly tailored to provide coverage to a stand, without blocking the neighboring sites. “The other challenging issue relates to call patterns and peak capacity,” says Cullinan. “For instance, when the yellow flag is raised during a race and the pace car arrives, there might be a sudden blast of mobile phone calls—that could be more than 20,000 calls in less than a minute!” Capacity maximized To maximize the capacity of the NASCOWs, RFS six-channel Autotuner combiners (ATC860R-6) are being used to feed multiple radio signals into each antenna. Developed in association with Nextel Development Engineering, the RFS Autotuner combiner features continuous monitoring and adjustment of frequency tuning to maintain tight channel control. By connecting Motorola Quad radios—which are used extensively by the iDEN network— to the Autotuner combiners, 24 or more channels can be delivered through a single antenna. RFS expansion racks are also playing a role in each NASCOW, providing design flexibility and extended functionality in a compact unit that is ideal for the limited space aboard the trailer. According to Cullinan, the NASCOWs were ready and in place for the first NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race for 2004—the renowned Daytona 500, held at the Daytona International Speedway in Florida on February 15. “It was a really rushed program, with the COWs being built at three different locations across the country,” he says. “RFS engineers were involved in the design and configuration of the antennas, and we were working to very short lead times. However, in the end, all the work we’ve done with Nextel over the past few years really helped both us and them understand what was needed.” The NASCOW represents a significant step forward in mobile cell site technology, says Cullinan of the trailer now being carted all around the USA. The key is remote tilt. As the 2004 NASCAR racing season evolves and crowd calling patterns emerge, remote tilt will provide the ultimate in flexibility to Nextel engineers seeking to further refine network performance. For as long as there’s a break in the racing action, the crowd will want to make calls. NASCAR is a registered trademark of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, Inc. Nextel and the Nextel logo are registered trademarks of Nextel Communications, Inc. The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series marks are used under license by NASCAR, Inc. and Nextel Communications, Inc. iDEN is a trademark of Motorola.
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