[Mobilepartners] Community Forum: AT&T Cellular Transmitter installation

[Joan M. Cyr]

Greetings:

Please join members of Information Services and Technology (IS&T), 
Facilities, and AT&T Cellular for a Community Forum on _Monday, February 
9, 2009 at 10am in W20-306, Twenty Chimneys._  The meeting is an open 
forum to discuss the possible installation locations for an AT&T 
cellular transmitter on main campus to improve cellular phone coverage, 
and also to provide us an opportunity to hear concerns, answer 
questions, and collect general feedback and comments from the MIT 
community. 

*Currently, the installation locations under review are:

*The roof of *B**uilding 37* 
(http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?selection=37&Buildings=go)
The roof of *Building 16* 
(http://whereis.mit.edu/map-jpg?selection=16&Buildings=go)

Please forward this invitation to faculty, staff and / or students who 
may be interested in learning about this project and sharing their 
experiences, thoughts and concerns.

-------------------------
Background:

IS&T has received significant feedback from MIT customers who have AT&T 
devices that report the cellular coverage on campus is sub-par, and is 
hindering researchers, faculty, students and staff ability to do their 
work for the Institute.  This issue has been made more pronounced by the 
introduction of the iPhone in June 2007, which is being offered 
exclusively by AT&T for 5 years.

IS&T and Facilities have worked in collaboration with AT&T to develop 
potential solutions to the problem, and based on the concentration of 
devices on campus and the location of other AT&T transmitters in the 
area, AT&T has determined the solution to this coverage issue was to 
install a transmitter in MIT's main campus. 

Once AT&T had identified some possible locations for transmitters, some 
of the buildings were tested to see if a potential transmitter would 
improve signal distribution across campus.  Based on those test results, 
the potential locations that are now under consideration for transmitter 
installation are buildings 37 (best) and building 16 (good).

We are coordinating a meeting with MIT, AT&T and their RF engineers to 
review possible installation options, so that MIT customers can voice 
concerns, ask questions, and bring all issues forward to help us further 
define the parameters around which this work should be undertaken. 

Our goal is to address the concerns of MIT community members which have 
important MIT work that cannot be disrupted by a potential transmitter 
installation, and to also provide an opportunity for other members of 
the MIT community that have important MIT work that is being disrupted 
by the fact that their AT&T mobile devices are not working effectively 
in some locations across the MIT campus.

Regards,

Joan
-- 
*Joan M. Cyr
Technical Consultant, 5ESS and Cellular
*Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Information Services and Technology
400 Main Street, E19-687
Cambridge, MA 02142
T: 617.253.7900
F: 617.253.5300
E-Mail: jcyr at mit.edu
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