Professionals who work at the new Comcast Center in Philadelphia should be assured their wireless devices, both for voice and data, will work inside the building thanks to a deployment by MobileAccess.

The in-building solutions provider deployed its Universal Wireless Network to ensure wireless communications throughout Comcast’s headquarters. The 1.2- million-square-foot building is owned and operated by Liberty Property Trust, and it’s the tallest building in Philadelphia, standing nearly 1,000 feet high with 58 stories.

The in-building solutions are geared to accommodate the services of all four major nationwide wireless operators, as well as providing support for a Cisco wireless LAN, said Jeff Kunst, vice president of marketing at MobileAccess. It also will support future technologies, such as LTE or WiMAX.

One of the big challenges with new eco-friendly buildings is the shielding that’s put in windows to keep heat in or out, depending on the environment, according to Kunst. That shielding also serves to keep RF from coming in, he said. Plus, cellular coverage tends to get more unreliable once you get past the 12^th or 15^th floor, he said, as most systems are built for street-level or mid-sized buildings.

MobileAccess has done a lot of work in the healthcare sector, as well as for casinos and the financial industry. Wireless in-building coverage used to be considered an amenity, but that’s no longer the case, and it’s no longer existing buildings that are being retrofitted but new buildings are getting in-building coverage at the time of construction. “I think this is very representative of what’s happening in the industry,” he said. “They’re all predefining a requirement for wireless.”