Hospital buildings are notoriously hostile environments for wireless connectivity. Canton Mercy Medical Center had been a long-time user of Wi-Fi since its first deployment in 2005. Now the wireless network has become mission-critical. It is used for clinical access, administrative access, voice communications, and supports a broad array of biomedical devices, data capture equipment and supporting applications.
More mobile devices and wireless-enabled equipment from different manufacturers are being brought into the environment, and they each have unique connectivity challenges. In addition, voice call quality was inadequate, and doctors and staff complained of poor performance when accessing clinical applications and data from their mobile devices.