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James Madison University Atlantic Union Bank Center

The Atlantic Union Bank Center, which opened in fall 2020, ushers in a new era of JMU basketball, women’s indoor sports and numerous other university and community events, such as commencement, concerts, trade shows and more. To meet the high-speed needs of students and fans, the university had planned for a commercial ISP to support the arena’s Wi-Fi network, but the price came in substantially over budget. That’s when MSB put the pedal to the metal and found a more economical way to serve the high-capacity needs of the venue.

MSB originally searched for a way to tie the arena to the wireless network on campus but found this solution would put a strain on the IT staff and could potentially create issues with campus network security. Instead, MSB reached out to Apogee, the managed services technology partner currently providing internet ISP and cable television to JMU’s dormitories. The MSB and Apogee teams discovered Apogee’s backhaul could connect its server across the campus via fiber cabling, enabling the university to deploy sophisticated infrastructure while minimizing costs and complexity.

MSB spent an extensive period of time engineering a network design to fit the university’s budget and achieve its objective of reliable, first-class wireless coverage for students and public guests of the new arena. In the process of identifying a solution, updating the contract and negotiating the network expansion with Apogee, MSB determined that JMU could upgrade their planned Wi-Fi 5 network to next-generation Wi-Fi 6 design, future-proofing the arena’s Wi-Fi network for the same cost called for in the contract. As a result, the Wi-Fi system is now able to achieve greater coverage and faster speed for streaming video, voice calls, internet, and wireless ticketing.

The process put their project two to three months behind schedule, but opening day didn’t change. MSB completed the entire network installation, from build out to commissioning, in just under two months to meet the contract deadline.

MSB provided drafting and design, technical consulting, vendor coordination, project controls and construction, and project management for the project. MSB will be on site supporting seamless Wi-Fi coverage when fans step into their brand-new arena at full capacity and will provide ongoing maintenance and technical support to continue to achieve seamless coverage to meet their wireless demands.

San Mateo County

MSB and Kaizen Technology collaborated with county planners to design a high-tech rural broadband grant application package to fund infrastructure for residential areas, a community center, and drive-up internet cafés serving as Wi-Fi hotspots.

Engineering Solutions to Bridge the Digital Divide

Municipalities need professional guidance and expertise to seek out resources and technology to create a pathway to ensuring wireless connectivity to communities both remote and rural and urban yet isolated. Causes contributing to a lack of internet access vary by community and require diverse solutions.

MSB’s rural broadband grant application services included technical engineering, wireless network conceptual design, planning, vendor coordination, and hardware selection to meet the grant requirements. The network solution incorporates a combination of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites for internet backhaul and last mile broadcasts utilizing CBRS and Wi-Fi frequency spectra.

“Our client’s grant application required a solution design and schematic from a licensed engineer. MSB’s experience designing internet access solutions for hard-to-reach areas was a key selling point. The team at MSB was collaborative and responsive to the requirements and tight deadlines. We look forward to working with them on more projects in the future.” – Dao Jensen, CEO Kaizen Technology Partners

The deployment of this broadband solution will ensure reliable, high speed internet connectivity for residents in the mostly rough, mountainous terrain of San Mateo County. In this economically challenged area, the network will establish a lifeline for public safety communications and serve as a catalyst for economic opportunity by facilitating civic engagement, furthering educational attainment and creating jobs.`