There are many situations where some spots have poor cellular network coverage. In some cases, the network is not available at all. This is common in high rise buildings, underground transportation systems and the highly populated areas like shopping malls, hospitals, college campuses, and stop arenas where the existing network system is overwhelmed by the demand such as many places in Raleigh city. The distributed antenna system, also known as the cellular DAS is the technology that boosts network coverage in areas with poor connectivity by installing a network of small antennas in the area that serve as repeaters.

The antennas are physically connected using a coaxial cable or the fiber to a central controller. This central controller is in turn connected to some wireless carrier network base station. The system increases the signal reliability and the power consumption is also less. Since the distributed antenna systems operate on RF spectrum that is licensed to a wireless carrier, it is not possible for an enterprise to undertake the deployment of DAS without one or more carriers.

The system works by simply relying on the presses of additional antennas which in turn increases the chance of a good line-of-sight channel. Since the provision of cellular signals is a very power demanding process due to the problems penetration and shadowing that leads to signal losses, the DAS relies on the active repeater amplifiers or passive splitters and feeder configurations. The two configurations increases efficiency and thus reduce the power consumption.

The DAS antenna node are very compact. As such, they can be deployed indoors and even outside. In addition to this, they are smaller in size and require less power allowing them to be installed in the areas where the zoning restriction don't allow the cell towers to be placed. In fact, it can be tied to a given wireless carrier such as Verizon or AT&T. The best option, however, is the use of a neutral-host provider that has a multiple carriers.

Since the installation is quite expensive, the industry is an option for the long contract terms. The most common of these is the ten year contract that is quickly becoming the industry standard.

The installation purpose, the industry players usually prefer long contracts as direct installation is quite expensive. The ten year contract, for instance, has become the industry norm.

For better installation options, the industry has generally opted for a long contract with the majority of players choosing ten year contracts. However, the carrier owner who bears all the costs related to the purchase and installation of the equipment gets the exclusive rights over the platform. In order to recoup their cost, they charge the competitors and any other users fees for the use of their platform.

With the DAS system, it is easy to offer the voice and data services through the mobile devices to the users in the densely populated areas where the typical system is overwhelmed by the demand. The system is also suitable for the remote locations that have poor network coverage or those with no coverage at all. Today, it is widely used in the city of Raleigh. It comes with the advantages of easing the zoning and antenna placement, no need for site development, and consumes lower power.