When you install a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) in a cool place like Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, it's only natural that you have your customers, partners and network operators come check it out at a swanky event.

That's just what Connectivity Wireless Solutions did on Tuesday night this week. The company, which manages DAS deployments for wireless carriers and enterprises, installed a DAS for the Shedd earlier this year and offered up tours, alongside apps, drinks, and plenty of fish (for both viewing and eating). Click on the image below for some visuals of all four.

Figure 1: The View If the view looks familiar to you Light Reading faithful, it's because it's right next to Chicago's Planetarium where our very own Big Telecom Event took place in June (seems like eons ago...).

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DAS or Small Cells?
Rob Benson, director of strategic accounts for Connectivity Wireless Solutions, acknowledged that many wireless operators and enterprises grapple with the question of whether to deploy a DAS or small cells indoors, but, for the most part, he said DAS is winning out. The rights, backhaul and business model challenges that plague public access small cells are true indoors as well, he said. (See Small Cell Forum Tackles Urban, Virtualization and Small Cells Mean Big Backhaul Challenges.)

"Just a year and half ago, guys like me looked at the industry and asked if small cells would wipe us out. We thought we'd just be annihilated by small cells, but it's become pretty clear that for large venues DAS is still the solution," Benson said, adding that where small cells might play a larger role is in smaller indoor areas. (See AT&T Talks Small Cells, DAS in New Ads, Mind the DAS! AT&T & Sprint Aboard Full NYC Subway Project and Carrier WiFi's Not Winning in Sports Arenas.)

— Sarah Reedy, Senior Editor, Light Reading