Client story How MAC's Strategic Vision Powers the Future of Airport Operations

The Challenge: Operational Friction in a "City Without Citizens" 

The vision of a frictionless airport experience was hitting a wall: unreliable and inflexible connectivity. Critical operational needs were being met with solutions that created complexity and limited innovation. 

• Compromised Compliance: On the airfield, maintenance crews responsible for FAA Part 139 compliance inspections relied on commercial cellular networks to run the Cityworks application. This commercial service was often slow or unavailable in certain areas, affecting staff ability to complete compliance activities. 

• Limited Mobility Operations: At the gates, airline partners were physically tethered to ethernet cables to run their Common User System Equipment (CUSE) carts for passenger processing. This made it difficult to react to gate changes and other dynamic operational needs. 

• High Security Costs: Expanding MSP's camera security network to critical areas like the perimeter fence required extensive fiber trenching – posing significant financial and logistical hurdles and creating a significant barrier to enhancing security. 

The technical limitations of existing wireless technology were a core part of the problem. As Wireless Consultant Glenn Hutt explained, Wi-Fi was not a viable solution for the wide-open spaces of an airfield. "Wi-Fi has distance limitations. You can't get coverage across an airfield with Wi-Fi," Hutt noted. "Private wireless by contrast operates at a much higher power and provides much greater range. So instead of 100 or 200 feet for Wi-Fi, you're looking at closer to a kilometer." 

This lack of control over connection quality meant MAC could not extend new capabilities into critical areas. Innovations like autonomous systems or comprehensive surveillance on the airfield were simply not possible without a more advanced reliable connectivity layer. 

The Solution: Building a Platform, Not a Point Solution

Rather than solving each problem in a silo, Valencia championed an enterprise-wide approach. His vision was to build a foundational connectivity plane, a private wireless network that would position the entire campus for any future use case. This project was treated as an essential enabling technology, guaranteeing MAC would possess the underlying capability to support future innovations.   

Executing this required collaboration with experienced partners. "Get the right partners that are going to help you to be successful," Valencia advises his peers.

Hutt echoed this sentiment, confirming the selection process focused on long-term viability. "A lot of companies can build them, but the hard part is to maintain them and run them for five years, for 10 years," he said. 

This focus on long-term capability led MAC to select Insight Public Sector to deliver the end-to-end deployment, leveraging the Ericsson Private 5G platform, capable of supporting 4G and 5G devices simultaneously, with expert installation from Pierson Wireless.

It was a clear example of vision translating into purposeful action—demonstrating how intent, paired with the right collaboration, can turn possibility into capability. 

The Results: Unlocking the Airport of Tomorrow

The project, one of the largest private wireless deployments at a U.S. airport to date, provides MAC with a secure, reliable connectivity layer that addresses immediate operational needs while creating capacity for future innovation. 

The network enhances connectivity for Cityworks on the airfield. It enables wireless use of CUSE carts, improving airline flexibility, and supports security cameras expansion without expensive fiber installation.

More importantly, the system lays the foundation for emerging capabilities such as automation, analytics, and autonomous vehicles for baggage handling, fueling and aircraft guidance. "The opportunity for automation and autonomous systems that make our airfield safer and more efficient is, in my opinion, a game changer,” Valencia said. 

With a connectivity layer it can finally trust, MAC is now positioned to explore next-generation airport technologies, ensuring MAC and the MSP Airport remain at the forefront of operational excellence and passenger experience.

When it comes to advice for his peers, Valencia emphasizes the importance of a broad, strategic view. "Think about the big picture," he advised. "Understand that this is really an enabling technology... and what you're trying to position your organization to do." By taking this strategic, platform-first approach, MAC has done more than just solve a connectivity problem; it has built the foundation to support the future of travel.