AT&T hopes to provide increased cellular coverage through the use of Distributed Antenna Systems.

– Courtesy of Lane Kasselman

Residents of Palo Alto could soon see Distributed Antenna Systems around the city after the Architectural Review Board agreed unanimously to recommend the installment of 19 DAS throughout the Palo Alto area.

According to AT&T, the DAS units have been requested by many residents and are intended to better cellular reception in Palo Alto.

“Palo Alto’s unique topography, combined with its building density, pose a challenge to wireless network performance,” Lane Kasselman said, AT&T Director of Communications. “Deploying a DAS network will increase network performance by providing greater coverage throughout the city and filling small gaps in existing coverage. AT&T’s DAS network will improve call quality and reliability while also supporting stronger signals, increased traffic and faster transfer of data.”

DAS have been effective in many locations throughout the Bay Area, according to Kasselman. 

“DAS has been successfully implemented for more than a decade and is located in hundreds of neighborhoods, cities, sporting venues, college campuses, hospitals, airports and hotels across the country,” Kasselman said. “Several neighborhoods in San Francisco currently have DAS deployments.”

However, AT&T’s DAS proposal has yet to be approved by the Palo Alto Director of Planning, Curtis Williams.

“The Palo Alto City Council is scheduled to hear the resident appeal to our DAS on Jan. 23,” Kasselman said. “Once all approvals have been completed, AT&T will begin the construction process. Building out the initial phase of DAS will take several months.”

AT&T first introduced the proposal to members of the Palo Alto community on Oct. 11.