consistel - Business World International

| CONSISTEL
CONSISTEL |
Next Level
In-Building Wireless
Solutions
Based in Singapore, CONSISTEL Pte Ltd is
one of the most innovative and up-and-coming in-
building wireless software solutions providers and
integrators of Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS)
in the world. They specialize in the design and
installation of cutting edge mobile networks that
optimize their clients’ in-building wireless services
and are on the verge of redefining the industry with
ATRIUM, their latest enterprise software suite.
| CONSISTEL
CONSISTEL |
| CONSISTEL
Masoud Bassiri is the Chairman and
the region at that time. He was responsible
Founder of CONSISTEL − and he boasts
for the rollout of those 1G networks for a va-
an impressive resume, to say the least. He
riety of operators from end-to-end, includ-
started his career in the late 1980s working
ing Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Phil-
for Motorola in their Research and Develop-
ippines, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh,
ment (R&D) department. During that time,
among others.
he wrote software and developed system de-
Three years later, he was hired by Nortel
signs as part of the original invention groups
as Head of their Wireless Division. He suc-
for cellular mobile networks, and he has sev-
cessfully expanded that branch of the com-
eral patents with Motorola under his name.
pany and established the first GSM network
In 1991, Motorola sent Bassiri to Singa-
in Singapore, which he again built from end-
pore, where he became Head of Engineering
to-end. As he was in the midst of delivering
and Operations in Southeast Asia to setup
that project, he discovered that he needed to
the 1G analogue system, which was new to
build an indoor wireless system, which was
CONSISTEL |
| CONSISTEL
foreign to him at the time.
work planning software for their macro out-
His search for a solution led him to two
door wireless network. MSI began purchas-
American companies that were consultants
ing licences in locations such as India, Hong
to the Pentagon. They possessed the engi-
Kong and Africa for fixed fees, and invested
neering systems and techniques necessary
those assets into a company called Celtel. In
to distribute wireless networking signals in-
2000, MSI sold the products and services
doors via DAS. This was the first time in the
side of Celtel to Marconi Communications,
world that the technology was brought from
eventually selling the company itself to Vo-
a classified application to the civil applica-
dafone in 2005. Two years later, Bassiri and
tion.
a group of investors completed a leveraged
Bassiri left Nortel in 1996 after complet-
management buyout from Marconi Com-
ing their end-to-end 2G network rollout.
munications. CONSISTEL is a product of
He went on to join MSI as Vice President
that buyout – a company long in the making
of their Asian Division, specializing in net-
and born from more than 25 years of indus-
CONSISTEL |
try experience and expertise.
ATRIUM
Since its inception, CONSISTEL has
focused primarily on wireless networking
integration and software development for
indoor wireless telephony. ATRIUM is a result of that focus, and it has positioned the
company on the leading edge of the wireless
industry. The enterprise software suite is designed to digitize entire buildings and other
expansive properties to provide crucial data,
such as pictures, systems and network diagrams, just to name a few.
“It’s the building equivalent to Facebook,
but it has engineering functionality,” Bassiri
explains. “For example, it takes the walls of a
loss distribution network and comes up with
automatic antenna placements − these are
patented − and network architecture, size
of the cables, length of the cables, type of
connectors and so forth. So it provides very
comprehensive system planning.”
According to Bassiri, ATRIUM is vastly
superior to the current software being used
worldwide for the same purpose. The preceding software was developed approximately 15 years ago and uses a “very old” C
programming language platform. It also performs poorly in the area of building
| CONSISTEL
digitization.
“However, because the software doesn’t
“ I had projects in Pakistan in 2006 and
have a database, it’s basically just a user in-
2007, which was during the time of the vio-
terface that only does simulation. So my en-
lence and the bombings in Karachi,” he re-
gineers came back to me and told me that
calls. “We had 150 building projects to com-
using the software would actually be creat-
plete there, which normally wouldn’t have
ing additional work for them, since it would
been a problem because we were doing 100
be one more format of documentation they
buildings a month in Thailand, Malaysia, the
would need to consolidate. That’s when the
Philippines and so on – but in Pakistan, my
light bulb went off − the key is not simula-
engineers were terrified of losing their lives.
tion, but rather databasing this entire pro-
So I asked them to purchase the software
cess of engineering.”
from Canada so they could use it to design
Following an extensive R&D period
the buildings, get out fast and leave the inte-
which cost the company $15 million of its
gration to the local providers.”
own capital as well as $2.5 million in grants
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from the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore, CONSISTEL developed
ATRIUM. The cutting edge enterprise software uses an Oracle database that “feeds
multiple functionalities,” including building
digitization, site acquisition, site management, network engineering procurement,
component library, Key Performance Indicators (KPI), banking status, financial status,
site locations and more.
“If you go to any infrastructure management software in any operator, they have
multiple databases within multiple departments,” Bassiri explains. “With ATRIUM,
that information sits around one database,
which allows the software to become an operator of an operator, so to speak. We have
written ATRIUM 100 per cent in-house, so
whenever a customer orders a need for some
sort of a pivoting of the data, we can reach
into the engine and into the database and
provide functionality very quickly.”
BENEFITS OF BUILDING
DIGITIZATION
For clients, the savings in both cost and
time are substantial when using ATRIUM
over conventional methods. CONSISTEL’S
patented automatic antenna placement, for
example, gives the software the ability to
| CONSISTEL
automatically optimize antenna placements
put the antennas.”
within a building once the floor plans have
In this application, ATRIUM reduces la-
been uploaded.
bour work by roughly 60 per cent to come
“With any other software, you actually
up with a full integration of a network in-
have to take a taxi, go to the site, test the
side a building. It also reduces the total cost
equipment and place antennas in different
of integrating the building by between 25 to
locations to come up with test transmit re-
30 per cent. Once the antennas have been
sults,” Bassiri says. “You also have to do this
placed and installed, CONSISTEL only has
by walking through hallways only – not the
to test for connectivity, as ATRIUM has ef-
entire floor. Through hallways only, you get
fectively eliminated the need for coverage
sort of a snake route within the floor which
and integration testing.
is less than 5 per cent of total data. With
ATRIUM also provides benefits that ex-
ATRIUM, you get the entire floor, and it will
tend beyond its practical applications. Bassi-
tell you − very accurately − exactly where to
ri explains that building digitization “gives
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life to the data” not only for the telecomm
they didn’t have information, so they didn’t
industry, but also for security surveillance,
know how many terrorists there were, where
ecommerce − practically anything that can
they were, what weapons they were carry-
use that data for content placement. This
ing and exactly what kind of formation they
is because building digitization essentially
were in inside the hotel.”
provides a platform for users to index their
“If the Chief of Police or swat team had
content on, which would be incredibly ad-
access to the security cameras from outside
vantageous for those needing to access that
of the hotel, it would have been a much dif-
content from an external location.
ferent result,” he continues. “That’s what we
“For example, let’s talk about the attack
want to do with ATRIUM. You immediately
on the hotel in India,” says Bassiri. “There
upload the cameras to determine that infor-
were 600 police officers outside and about
mation, and the server would not be easily
six terrorists inside. Obviously, the police
spotted by a terrorist to be destroyed. Every-
outnumbered the terrorists, but why didn’t
thing would be concealed and you would be
they go inside? The main answer is because
able to access the data very quickly.”
| CONSISTEL
Similar advantages, as Bassiri points out,
A BRIGHT FUTURE
could also be applied to firefighting. Currently, when firefighters arrive on the scene,
For 20 years now, the Enterprise 50 (E50)
they must observe the necessary precautions
Awards have annually recognized the top 50
and procedures to understand the location
privately-owned businesses “who have con-
and extent of the fire before they enter the
tributed to economic development in Sin-
property. This, of course, is prudent, but also
gapore and abroad.” In 2014, CONSISTEL
time-consuming. However, using the cam-
ranked 46th on the prestigious list − an im-
eras or sensors that are part of ATRIUM’s
pressive feat considering they have spent the
platform, firefighters would be able to accu-
past two years researching and developing
rately simulate the fire very quickly on smart
ATRIUM, which rendered them completely
devices such as iPads and iPhones, thus pro-
ineligible for the previous two award pro-
viding them accurate data in a much shorter
grams.
time span.
“We hadn’t really gone out in a power
CONSISTEL |
way to sell ATRIUM until this year because
lion industry by itself.”
we were in the R&D mode, so I was quite
In the meantime, however, CONSISTEL
pleased that we finally got into the E50,”
is focused on spinning ATRIUM off into a
Bassiri says. “We worked hard to get there
new company called INIQ.
and I hope with future achievements we will
“INIQ is going to be the new brand, and
rank a lot better than 46th, but simply mak-
that work has already begun,” Bassiri reveals.
ing the list is great.”
“So the short-term plan is the divestment of
Now that CONSISTEL is gearing up to
this asset into an independent, and the long-
market ATRIUM worldwide, it is very likely
term plan is to basically make it the global
that the company will ascend the E50 ranks
dominant for any indoor application, in-
in just a few short years. In fact, having iden-
cluding telecomm, for managing the content
tified the total addressable market for the
and infrastructure.”
enterprise software suite, Bassiri anticipates
that it could eventually “become a $10 bil-
| CONSISTEL
Beyond ATRIUM, the company also has a very bright fu-
ture. This met
ture in regards to their neutral host DAS and system integra-
impaired perf
tion divisions. For the former − the division Bassiri is person-
ered cabling sy
ally leading − CONSISTEL is working on a joint venture with
“There’s 4G
Equis Funds Group worth $150 million. That project would
Bassiri says. “Th
see the company creating, owning and operating building net-
4G MIMO ar
works which they would then lease to operators. CONSISTEL
is something t
currently has this in effect with Singapore Sports Hub.
tion companie
For their system integration division, CONSISTEL is focused on converting 3G networks to 4G multiple-input and
multiple-output (MIMO), which most telecommunications
companies worldwide have not done yet. Instead, as Bassiri
explains, the majority of these companies are simply changing
their base stations to 4G using their old 3G cabling architec-
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thod produces a 4G signal, but one with severely
formance, whereas 4G MIMO uses a double-lay-
ystem to produce a truly effective 4G signal.
G without MIMO, and then 4G with MIMO,”
The number of buildings worldwide that are truly
re in the hundreds, not thousands. So 4G MIMO
that is going to revolutionize all telecommunica-
es. I would like to be a big part of that.”
| CONSISTEL
CONSISTEL |