Eliminating indoor dead zones and enabling reliable emergency connectivity
Organization: Specialty Hospital
Industry: Healthcare
Region: Muscat, Oman
Use Case: In-building cellular coverage for emergency communications
Executive Summary
A specialty hospital in Muscat, Oman, improved indoor cellular coverage and emergency communication capabilities using Airgain’s Lighthouse Smart Network Controlled Repeaters integrated with an existing 5G Distributed Antenna System (DAS). Concrete-heavy construction had created significant dead zones throughout the facility’s underground and lower-level areas, limiting connectivity and reducing throughput to as little as 7–12 Mbps. Following deployment, throughput increased by more than 25x, reaching speeds of up to 430 Mbps, while previously unreachable areas gained full cellular coverage. The solution was deployed in less than four hours using existing infrastructure, with no disruption to hospital operations.
A hospital in Muscat faced significant in-building coverage issues across underground and indoor areas. The facility’s concrete-heavy infrastructure caused severe LTE signal degradation, creating dead zones in critical areas, including underground parking and lower-level corridors.
Despite existing 4G infrastructure, throughput across the facility ranged from 7 to 12 Mbps, which was insufficient for modern healthcare operations and emergency communications.
The hospital needed a solution that could:
Airgain deployed Lighthouse Smart Network Controlled Repeaters integrated with the hospital’s existing 5G Distributed Antenna System (DAS).
The solution captured and optimized available cellular signal while leveraging existing DAS infrastructure and cabling already installed throughout the facility. This approach enabled rapid deployment while avoiding extensive construction, infrastructure replacement, or operational disruption.
By combining smart repeater technology with the hospital’s existing in-building wireless architecture, Airgain extended reliable cellular coverage into previously unreachable areas, including underground and lower-level spaces. The entire deployment was completed in less than four hours.
The deployment delivered a greater than 25x improvement in throughput, increasing speeds from 7 to 12 Mbps to 226 to 430 Mbps across the facility.
Dead zones in underground and lower-level areas were eliminated, enabling consistent connectivity throughout the entire hospital, including critical infrastructure zones.
The solution optimized both uplink and downlink stability, ensuring reliable communication for staff across all areas of the facility, particularly important during emergency response scenarios.
The system was installed in under 4 hours using existing infrastructure, with no service interruption to hospital operations during deployment.
By leveraging the hospital’s existing DAS and cabling infrastructure, the deployment minimized additional hardware and avoided complex rework, reducing both cost and installation time.
Post-deployment performance now meets hospital-grade emergency readiness benchmarks, ensuring staff remain connected during critical situations.
| Metric | Before Deployment | After Deployment |
|---|---|---|
| Download throughput | 7–12 Mbps | Up to 430 Mbps |
| Throughput improvement | Baseline performance | More than 25x increase |
| Coverage availability | Dead zones in critical areas | Full facility coverage |
| Emergency communications | Limited in some areas | Reliable throughout facility |
| Infrastructure required | Significant upgrades potentially required | Existing DAS leveraged |
Reliable wireless connectivity is increasingly essential in healthcare environments where communication delays can affect operational efficiency and emergency response. Hospitals, clinics, emergency care facilities, and healthcare campuses depend on continuous connectivity throughout their buildings—including underground and hard-to-reach areas.
This deployment demonstrates how healthcare organizations can improve indoor cellular coverage, strengthen emergency communication readiness, and modernize connectivity without the cost and disruption associated with large-scale infrastructure projects.
