American Bandwidth
Streamlining Cellular Coverage for Indoor Connectivity

All major wireless carriers have rolled out high-quality 5G networks, providing greater outdoor coverage which has ironically resulted in worse indoor coverage.

5G is ubiquitous and fast, but it operates in mid-band or higher frequencies that can struggle to penetrate walls and windows, leading to poor indoor coverage.

As a result, CIOs and CTOs are evaluating additional indoor cellular solutions like DAS and small cells to enhance indoor coverage and eliminate the chance of major signal interference.

However, these solutions require significant financial investment.

American Bandwidth resolves these indoor coverage challenges with its Ameriband Connect solution, providing a reliable alternative to expensive DAS or small cell deployments. The company has developed Ameriband Connect to ensure seamless connectivity between cellular and Wi-Fi networks, at a fraction of the cost of legacy solutions.

Almost all enterprise-grade Wi-Fi platforms can be integrated with Ameriband Connect, enabling users to connect to carrier networks without relying on traditional cell towers, unlike DAS and small cells, which are part of the cellular network infrastructure.

Although Wi-Fi is not directly integrated with cellular networks, cellular traffic can be offloaded onto Wi-Fi, providing robust indoor coverage and capacity while delivering high speeds and low latency.

“Ameriband Connect is an industry-standard solution that streamlines network access between a user's current Wi-Fi network and carrier cellular networks,” says Howard Buzick, SVP of Business Development.

From educational institutions, retail chains and healthcare facilities to government offices, commercial real estate and entertainment venues, Ameriband Connect enables Wi-Fi routers to connect users to carrier networks over Wi-Fi instead of using cell towers alone.

The solution configures indoor Wi-Fi networks for secure, seamless authentication of all smartphone visitors.

Making Carrier-Grade Security Easy

This state-of-the-art cloud-based authentication platform is based on Passpoint®, eliminating the need for users to find and authenticate on a Wi-Fi network each time they visit. Users automatically connect to the building’s Wi-Fi network using the SIM credentials for their carrier with no need to enter SSIDs or log in to captive portals.

Passpoint utilizes the EAP-AKA authentication method that employs encrypted SIM credentials for network connection, ensuring secure authentication directly through the carrier's AAA server and preventing man-in-the-middle attacks. A robust AES-256-bit encrypted connection offers end-to-end carrier-grade security after authentication. This SIM authentication via Passpoint increases clients’ control over their mobile devices on the Wi-Fi network while eliminating the need for separate infrastructure deployment.

Ameriband Connect can be enabled anywhere with an enterprise-grade Wi-Fi network, making it a convenient solution for any location with poor cellular connectivity. Since almost every smartphone in the U.S. already has a Passpoint profile installed, American Bandwidth’s carrier relationships allow users to enable secure, seamless access to their Wi-Fi network. Users making calls using the native phone app benefit from the enabled Wi-Fi Calling by default on smartphones and enjoy an enhanced experience.

Rapid Testing and Deployment

Ameriband Connect can be seamlessly integrated without disrupting current services.

The rollout is fast and methodical, beginning in a lab environment, followed by a pilot in an initial building to ensure improvement in connectivity. The initial steps include American Bandwidth’s technical team thoroughly detailing the functionality of the solution and addressing any questions via an introductory call.

This is followed by an integration call, which typically takes less than an hour. During this call, Passpoint is configured and activated on a secure service set identifier (SSID) within the customer’s network.
The team quickly configures a new secure SSID for Passpoint integration that typically uses the existing Guest VLAN, applying all of the policies normally reserved for guest access. The service is expanded systematically across all clients' facilities, whether it be schools within a district or every store in a retail chain, activating immediately without interrupting existing services.

The American Bandwidth team helps configure essential Wi-Fi network features like fast roaming to allow a smooth transition of voice calls between access points. The company validates firewall rules to ensure the establishment of internet protocol security (IPSec) tunnels required for Wi-Fi calling. They then provide support in configuring rules for allowing outbound IPSec tunnel requests and opening necessary ports and IP addresses as needed.

American Bandwidth’s team of seasoned professionals, each with decades of expertise in wireless solutions, plays a pivotal role in ensuring tailored and effective deployments for clients. These professionals are experts in Wi-Fi network management and deploying Passpoint networks across airports, stadiums and other high-profile venues. Leveraging this deep understanding of industry standards and best practices, the team advises customers on network configurations and optimizations for ideal performance and integration.

Providing Continuous Support Post-Deployment

The Ameriband team provides each client with a bespoke radius server and reporting system with unique access credentials, allowing for monitoring of the Passpoint service performance on a detailed level per building and carrier. American Bandwidth staff monitor the network's accounting data for anomalies, quickly notifying the client and arranging a follow-up call to address any concerns if required.
The Ameriband team makes themselves continuously available for any additional questions, configurations or troubleshooting the customer may require.

“After implementing Ameriband Connect, our clients observe decreased complaints about cellular coverage issues within their buildings and increased user satisfaction,” says Buzick.

An instance that best highlights Ameriband Connect’s impact is demonstrated by a renowned university with a diverse campus network composed of academic and medical facilities in Atlanta, Georgia, faced poor indoor cellular connectivity. Prompted by these concerns, the customer reached out to American Bandwidth for a solution. The promising results of the three-week trial run of its platform in their IT lab led to the university adopting the solution throughout the campus and hospital.

American Bandwidth is expanding dramatically, integrating an average of five to ten new networks each week. The company is also experiencing significant growth in the number of end-user devices supported, currently connecting over 42 million users a month. The drivers behind this success are Ameriband’s network strategy and long-term partnerships. This approach helps the company enlarge its operational footprint with each partnership, as a single integration with a retail chain often encompasses hundreds of stores.

Exploring the Future with Better Networking

At the center of American Bandwidth’s philosophy is ongoing learning and networking. The company continually engages with key industry bodies and actively participates in events hosted by the Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Broadband Alliance, among others, to keep pace with the latest technology. The company’s involvement with the Wireless LAN Professionals Conference (WLPC) and Wi-Fi Now allows it to network and forecast industry trends.

The company also collaborates with device manufacturers to ensure the availability of quality of service data, guaranteeing established networks are reliable and trusted by the carriers it serves. Understanding manufacturers’ developmental strategies and occasionally shaping industry standards ensure alignment with sector requirements. American Bandwidth aims to further enhance data and service quality in the next few years while extending its footprint beyond the U.S.

The company also plans to expand its product portfolio through its platform, Wi-DAS, enabling systems integrator partners to deliver enhanced services and resell its solutions. This program includes collaborating with managed service providers and systems integrators to conduct thorough site assessments, develop heat maps and deploy probes for continuous quality of service monitoring at various venues.

American Bandwidth anticipates a shift in indoor cellular coverage solutions, where reduced funding from wireless carriers for traditional indoor cellular deployments pushes organizations to seek economically viable alternatives.

With Wi-Fi networks becoming the obvious choice due to their existing robust infrastructure, the company is poised to onboard more carriers to fulfill the indoor coverage demand that remains unmet due to economic barriers. Ameriband aims to address this substantial demand with its cost-effective cellular solutions backed by Passpoint and its partnerships.

By converging innovation with practicality, American Bandwidth continues to redefine indoor cellular coverage, cementing its position as the go-to partner for companies seeking solutions that address the challenges of modern connectivity.