CORE Butte Charter School: 5-bar Coverage for School Administrative Building

To tackle these challenges, Waveform initiated a multi-stage planning process, consulting extensively with the school's IT, HR, and Facilities teams to understand their priorities, budget, and goals. Following a competitive bidding process, Waveform determined that the optimal approach was an off-air Distributed Antenna System (DAS) powered by the Cel-Fi Quatra 4000. This robust solution allows for a single system to cover all major carriers simultaneously.

The Cel-Fi Quatra 4000 was deployed using high-grade antennas, splitters, and couplers to strengthen the weak cellular signal. A key advantage of the Quatra 4000 is that it distributes the amplified signal throughout the building utilizing lossless Ethernet cables, supporting cable runs of up to 300 ft.

A major differentiator for Waveform was our highly efficient, cost-conscious system design. While a competing vendor proposed a system relying exclusively on expensive coverage units at roughly $2.5/sq ft, Waveform’s hybrid approach and meticulous design brought the project cost down to about $1.9/sq ft, delivering a superior, guaranteed 5-bar solution at a highly competitive price.

Because of the extensive advanced coordination, the installation was completed seamlessly over just a few days. The transformation inside the 20,000 sq ft office was dramatic. Staff instantly gained access to 5-bar coverage and fast data speeds for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile directly inside the facility, entirely eliminating the previous communication hurdles.

The post-installation data highlights the sheer effectiveness of the custom off-air DAS. Average RSRP metrics improved significantly to a healthy range of -83 db to -90 db, while the signal quality (SINR) jumped to an impressive 8 db to 13 db across the major networks. By leveraging deep technical expertise, the Waveform team successfully tuned the Quatra system to handle the site's major signal difficulties.

Ultimately, the school received a low-cost, reliable system that provides stable cellular coverage designed to perform for years to come. Furthermore, they gained a trusted long-term partner, as the Waveform team continue to support the project through ongoing maintenance.