| UNIT 6: MULTI-CELL WIRELESS - LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction The Panasonic KX-TAW848 Advanced Hybrid Wired/Wireless System offers a feature and functionality unheard of in a system of this size – Multi-Cell Wireless utilizing 2.4 Gigahertz Digital technology. Multi-Cell Wireless allows a user of a wireless telephone, or what we will refer to as a Portable Station (PS), to move throughout a business or residence and surrounding area with a wider coverage area than provided by a traditional cordless telephone, or single-point-of-origin wireless device. This wide coverage area is attained by installing Cell Stations at strategically located positions within the building. As the user of the Portable Station moves throughout the location, the system monitors the signal strength and “handsover” the Portable Station (PS) from one Cell Station to another. Functionally, this is similar to traditional cellular telephone service that “handsover” your cellular telephone from one cellular tower to another as you move throughout the coverage area. This is why the Multi-Cell Wireless feature is sometimes called “in-building” cellular. The Panasonic KX-TAW848 Advanced Hybrid Wired/Wireless System utilizes small Cell Stations that transmit and receive signals from the Portable Station to the KX-TAW848. The KX-TAW848 can support up to 4 KX-T0141 Cell Stations (CS). Each KX-T0141 Cell Station has two channels. This means that each Cell Station can support two simultaneous Portable Station conversations. The Cell Stations connect to Hybrid Line Card ports of the KX-TAW848. Panasonic offers two Portable Stations, the KX-TD7690 and KX-TD7680. The Portable Stations support most of the same features that are provided by the KX-T7700 series proprietary telephones. The KX-TD7690 is the compact executive handset featuring a 5-line backlit liquid crystal display, navigation button, speakerphone, headset jack and many other features. The KX-TD7680 is slightly larger handset with a 3-line backlit liquid crystal display supporting many of the same features. The KX-A269 and KX-A264 Carry Cases are also available to protect and carry the Portable Stations. Up to 28 Portable Stations can be used on the KX-TAW848. Portable Stations communicate with the KX-TAW848 through the Cell Stations. The system constantly monitors the Portable Stations to identify the Cell Station that is closest to the Portable Station and providing the strongest signal. The Cell Station that is designated as the Cell Station providing the strongest signal strength is called the “active” Cell Station. If the user of the Portable Station moves to another location within the building, where the signal strength of another Cell Station is significantly stronger than the current Cell Station, the system will handover the Portable Station to another Cell Station making the new Cell Station active. This handover can occur while the Portable Station is idle, or while the Portable Station is engaged in a call. Refer to page 144-152 in the Feature Guide for more information and conditions related to handover. When the Portable Station receives or makes a call, it will use one of the available channels of the active Cell Station to process the call through the KX-TAW848. Although each Cell Station can only facilitate two Portable Stations that are engaged in an active call, a Cell Station can monitor multiple Portable Stations. If both channels of a Cell Station are in use, the Cell Station is considered busy and cannot process any additional incoming or outgoing calls until one of the channels becomes idle. So what will you need to install a Multi-Cell Wireless application? Well much will depend on the needs of the customer, and the location and environment that the system is to be installed. Basically, it is a four-part process: Determine the installation parameters by studying the installations location and determining the needs of the end-user. Execute a Site Survey. Install the KX-TAW848 and Cell Stations as required by the Site Survey. Program the KX-TAW848 and register the Portable Station. A good starting point would be to first determine how many Portable Stations will be needed. Then identify the coverage area and how many Portable Stations will be used in a given area, and more importantly, are there areas that will need to support more than 2 Portable Station users engaged in active calls simultaneously. Why is this important? Well remember that each Cell Station can support two Portable Station conversations. If there is an area in your facility that will frequently have more than two Portable Stations in conversation at the same time, more than one Cell Station will need to be installed in that area of the building. This will allow a sufficient number of Cell Station channels with adequate signal strength to support the number of Portable Stations calls in that high-traffic Portable Station area. Portable Stations that are not able to utilize the Cell Stations in a given area will seek other Cell Stations within an installation site, but the weaker signal strength may cause some interference during communication. A floor plan can be very useful when studying the layout of an installation site and can also be used to identify the installation locations of the Cell Stations. It should be noted that the maximum cabling length between the KX-TAW848 and a Cell Station is 500 meters or 1640 feet using 22 AWG cable. This specification may factor into the installation location of both the Main Unit as well as the Cell Stations.