At least three firms are angling to build a distributed antenna system, or DAS, to enhance wireless reception over a wide swath of Santa Fe.

DAS is promoted as the next big thing in telecommunications — a network of low-key transmitters that create a wireless blanket over a large area, indoors and outdoors, much like Wi-Fi does for a single house or office.

DAS has been used for years in stadiums, airports and downtown areas for events like the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. But recently, such systems have been set up permanently in cities to provide better reception for laptop computers, "smart phones" and similar devices.

Such systems are troubling for people who believe health and the environment can be damaged by electromagnetic-field or radio-frequency radiation.

NewPath Networks of Seattle, ExteNet Systems of Lisle, Ill., and NextG Networks of San Jose, Calif., have approached Santa Fe city officials about a DAS over the last year.

NewPath Networks, the first firm to seek a DAS franchise in Santa Fe, operates more than 20 such systems, including one at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., where the Arizona Cardinals play, and another in nearby Scottsdale.

Stephen Garcia, director of public affairs and external land use for NewPath, said the system allows online services over a large area similar to what one gets in Wi-Fi "hot spots" at a coffee shop or library.

Garcia said DAS requires dozens or even hundreds of small, low-key transmitters that are lower powered and located closer to the ground than those on cell-phone towers.

"A large cell tower is trying to broadcast a large service area so that everybody can make a call. Now with DAS, it's not just so we can make a call, it's so we can have the same sort of experience ... that you would with your cable modem," he said.

NewPath Networks earlier this year was blocked from continuing to build a DAS in Davis, Calif., when the city council upheld the city manager in rescinding 24 building permits for towers. The action came in response to objections from some residents that the firm began building towers in their yards without notifying them.

Garcia said the residents did not understand that utility rights of way extend through these residential properties and that as a public utility under California law, NewPath can build new facilities there. "Because of the opposition, (the Davis city councilors) just thought, 'Regardless of your statewide authority and your right to access, we're just going to say no and come and get us and see you in court,' " he said.

Santa Fe's proposed DAS would cover the "downtown area and surrounding areas," Garcia said. "It typically starts off with a small footprint, and then the footprint will grow as they realize that more and more customers are enjoying the service or want more services."

The Scottsdale system, NewPath's largest, will involve 287 transmitters. So far, Garcia said, 173 have been approved, 86 are standing and 56 already are on air.

In Santa Fe, the transmitters could be placed on existing wooden utility poles, Garcia said. Metal utility poles often are too tall, he said, although in some cities, NewPath has put its antennas on street lights and traffic signals.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.