Babson College and Cellular Specialties Pave Way for New Student and Faculty Cellphone Emergency Notification System

MANCHESTER, NH--(Marketwire - February 24, 2009) - Cellular Specialties, Inc. (CSI), a recognized leader in the design and implementation of in-building wireless products and solutions, today announced Babson College has selected the company to boost cell phone service across its 370 acre campus without erecting a cell phone tower.

Located in Wellesley, MA, Babson College prides itself on offering an advanced IT infrastructure that scales across its expansive grounds for use by nearly 2,500 graduate and undergraduate students as well as 600 faculty and staff. However, the college found it difficult to extend distant cell tower signals to provide in-building reception, due to the campus buildings' architecture as well as Wellesley's ban on erecting new cell phone towers.

Daniel Tonelli, director, IT support services at Babson College elaborates on why good cell phone service is important, "Incidents such as the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings have prompted colleges to deploy new systems for disseminating public safety information via mass communications -- cell phones are the best way to do it. One of the problems we faced when attempting to send voicemail messages to a bunch of cell phones in the residence halls was that it didn't get there. We needed at least two to three bars of coverage for voice service."

Babson turned to CSI to help address the cell phone coverage issues. As the only in-building wireless service organization approved by all of the major wireless service providers, including Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel, CSI was the only company that could facilitate the approval process in a timely and cost-effective manner to pave the way for a mass notification system. CSI used the college's existing fiber, allowing Babson to save on installation costs. In the remaining coverage areas, CSI installed the required fiber for the DAS solution as well as additional fiber to accommodate Babson's future technology deployments. On the front end, each service provider uses an off-air solution for the RF source which ties into a single system architecture providing coverage.

Tonelli admits that the college did not have the skill-set or relationships with all carriers to pull off the towerless cell coverage and credits CSI for its services, "CSI sets up all the meetings with the carriers and gets full approval for their projects. The carriers have faith in CSI and allow them to tap into their networks. The carriers also know if something is not working correctly at Babson College, they can rely on CSI's support. It's just easier and more cost-effective than trying to do it on your own."

"Today, most colleges don't offer in-room telephone service; students just expect their cell phones to work. Meeting these expectations and providing in-building cell phone coverage -- without the aid of additional cell towers -- is CSI's expertise," says Kelley Carr, CSI's president of the Custom Solutions Group. "We are proud to be helping Babson College with such a valuable service."

About CSI

CSI (Cellular Specialties, Inc.) is driven to be a world class organization that delivers superior products and services enabling anytime, anywhere in-building wireless connectivity. CSI has implemented thousands of turnkey solutions throughout the country. Our consultative and product neutral approach enables us to develop truly customized solutions for every client. CSI also holds the distinction of being the only in-building wireless service organization approved by all major wireless service providers in the United States. For more information about CSI, please call (866) 670-2205 or visit www.csiwireless.com.

Contact Information: For More Information: Jackie Abramian Mike Emerton BridgeView Marketing (For CSI) 207-439-0963 Jackie@bridgeviewmarketing.com mike@bridgeviewmarketing.com