Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary

Cellular Connectivity Solutions for Administrative Offices

Panthera Africa, a non-profit sanctuary is situated on a farm in Stanford, near Hermanus, South Africa. Panthera Africa takes care of 26 big cats, including lions, leopards, tigers, cheetah, caracals and a jackal. They are a true sanctuary which means no breeding, no trading, and no interaction. The animals’ welfare is always put first. The big cats were rescued from terrible conditions and given a second chance at life. Today they can live out the rest of their lives in dignity and peace, with the love and care that they deserve.

The Problem

As a non-profit, Panthera Africa rely on income from visitors to the sanctuary, and it is vital that they can always receive phone calls so that bookings for visits can be made. Frequently, calls were missed due to their poor cellular connectivity.

The administrative offices are 300m² in area, with three small offices, which requires cell phone reception, as well as a garage where the farm manager works. Their need was to improve both voice and data signal. The cellular reception at the sanctuary was extremely poor, with an unreliable “Edge” signal that alternates between 1-3 bars with frequent dropped calls. On occasion the phone simply did not ring due to no network coverage - and you can imagine that this was very detrimental for their bookings, and frustrating for potential visitors.

The Solution

Determining the optimum solution for the client presented some challenges, as our team were not able to visit the site for a detailed survey. Instead, we worked closely with the client to gather the necessary data on signal readings and information on the layout of the building to design a solution that they could self install.

Due to very poor signal strength readings and distance to cell towers, we opted for the WilsonPro A1000 cell phone signal booster aimed at a specific tower with a Yagi directional antenna to receive Vodacom signal.

The Results

Before:

After:

Conclusion

• The average signal strength on Vodacom went from -109dB to -87db. From frequent missed and dropped calls to strong cellular signal.
• The Panthera Africa Team can now receive calls and make bookings seamlessly.