Airwave Pollution
Is your hotel interfering with cellular networks?
Cable signals are a lot like radio waves. And when cables are damaged that signal can “leak” out. These leaks can interefere with radios used by first responders, aircraft communications and navigation… and your guests’ smartphone.
Cable companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year looking for and fixing leaks. They use special signals and detection equipment that will alert technicians when there’s a break. They even fly airplanes over the city to double check for any areas that they might have missed. It’s a big deal, because no one wants to get that visit from the Verizon engineer …or FCC enforcer. If you’re one of the many hoteliers who partner with cable companies to deliver in-room entertainment for your guests, you’re probably* covered.
However, if you’re one of the many properties that maintain their own in-house cable system, you probably don’t have any leakage detection equipment or mitigation plan in place. The FCC does not require regular reporting of leakage for cable systems below 1500 subscribers (units), so you might think you’re off the hook. But unfortunately, you are still responsible for checking and repairing breaks that cause intereference, no matter the size. And of course this also applies to a large resort or campus system. According to the FCC regulations:
During regular monitoring, any leakage source which produces a field strength of 20 uV/m or greater at a distance of 3 meters in the aeronautical radio frequency bands shall be noted and such leakage sources shall be repaired within a reasonable period of time. - 47 CFR 76.614
But today, it is more than just the aeronautical band you have to worry about. The wireless carriers’ frequency bands overlap cable, which is a major source of intereference for them. Not only is it illegal to interfere with licensees, it’s also bad for your guests and neighbors.
So how do your maintenance crews verify you’re ok? One way might be to purchase detection equipment, or walk around the property with a TV and a short antenna to see if it picks up any of the in-room TV signals, then try to track it down (of course that’s not really going to produce reliable data either).
We might have a better way.
With our drone we can quickly survey your property and generate a heatmap of any detected signals to within a few feet. The process only takes a few minutes to perform by our FAA licensed pilots. And remember, if signal can get out, it can get in, so our surveys will help you deliver a better experience for your guests too.
If you’d like to know more about your responsibilites as a small cable system operator or schedule a survey, please reach out to us: eric@grandvalleyaviation.com