News
Western Australia Public Transport Signs Nokia for Full Private Wireless Network
(11 Aug 2022, BWCS Staff)Global telecoms equipment supplier Nokia has been chosen by the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia to supply an all-singing, all-dancing, private wireless network.
Under the terms of the deal, reportedly worth some Au$327 million (US$230.7 million), Nokia will upgrade PTA’s railway communications with a private wireless system covering 250Km of rail track. This will involve the construction of more than 160 LTE/4.9G radio sites. The project package is said to include designing and building and five years of maintenance for the PTA’s communications system.
The decision comes two years after the Western Australia government scrapped a Au$ 206 million contract with Chinese company Huawei. The government will pay Huawei and engineering firm UGL Au$6.6 million in compensation.
The Nokia contract comes four years after the Perth-based regional government took the first steps towards its stated goal of putting free WiFi on all public transport across the State. In late 2018, the PTA began a trial of on-board passenger WiFi services on two trains running on the Mandurah and Joondalup Lines in and out of Perth.
The pilot scheme had followed an announcement in August 2017 by WA transport minister Rita Saffioti who said that this was “Something the government is keen to trial to see if we can further improve the passenger experience.” Following the pilot project, usage and passenger feedback was collated to help determine whether free WiFi should be continued and rolled out across the network and this no doubt contributed to the decision to renew the overall comms network.
The new Nokia system will be used to support CBTC signalling and will provide greater capacity and closer headways than traditional signalling systems. The PTA’s current narrowband rail radio system will be upgraded, replacing analogue technology with a digital platform for voice, high-speed data and video services.
Nokia head of enterprise for Oceania, Mr Rob McCabe, says the new communications system incorporating Nokia’s private wireless network solution will improve the customer experience and safety.
Trenitalia to Present at Traincomms2022! …
Italian national operator, Trenitalia, is the latest major train company to sign up to speak at this year’s WiFi on Trains Conference – Traincomms 2022. The two people driving the project at Trenitalia will present their experiences with WiFi on board and how they view the future of this service.
The full conference programme is available at www.Traincomms.com
Trenitalia will join speakers from:
• Network Rail – discussing plans to partner with suppliers to improve national trackside coverage.
• DB Regio – outlining plans to use WiFi to entice passengers back onto trains and to learn from interacting with their 1.9 billion commuters in Germany.
• Amtrak – discussing long-term train to ground connectivity strategies
• Transport for London – Assessing how its project to provide full coverage on the Underground is progressing and what lessons have been learned
• Indian Rail – will be discussing progress on its vast trackside network scheme and plans for the future of WiFi on trains
• TGV Lyria – looking at how to cope with not-spots on the long-distance route and discussing its future plans for WiFi on board
• Deutsche Bahn ICE Trains: on getting customers back onto trains and improving coverage and WiFi quality on Germany’s long-distance trains
Late additions include SJ Trains and Thalys/Eurail.
Other presentations will come from Abellio, Arriva, Transport for Wales, Northern Trains, SBB, Go-Ahead, and many others.
In addition, there will be several panel discussions involving other train operators and suppliers – all open to questions and debate with the floor.
The event is proving very popular and we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone in person again.
If you would like to reserve your place –please e-mail Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com .
Track-side connectivity and on-board WiFi services will be the main subjects of BWCS’s WiFi on Trains Conference in October (www.Traincomms.com ).
The Full Programme is Available now at the website, where you can also sign up for our Free WiFi on Trains News Service (www.Traincomms.com ).
Or, to discuss exhibiting at the conference, please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com
This year’s Conference is sponsored by Westermo, Nomad, GlobalReach Technology and RADWIN
Latest News From www.Traincomms.com :
US Midwest to get WiFi on Trains … http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20146
New York Signs US$600 Million Deal to Put Mobile in Subway Tunnels … http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20145
LNER Trialing On-Board Edgecasting TV Service to Free up WiFi … http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20144
RailTel Adds Content to Telecoms Service Portfolio … http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20143
All Aboard with BAI to Bring Connectivity to the London Tube … http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20142
SpaceX Gets Green Light to Target WiFi on Trains … http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20141
Using Fast and Reliable WiFi to Persuade Passengers onto Trains … http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20140
Huge Trackside Network Deal Edges Closer… http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20137
Pakistan Railways Relaunches Push for Train WiFi … http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20136
Paris Metro Moves Closer to Fully 5G Future … http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20133
WiFi to the Rescue … http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20130
SpaceX Lands Planes Deal - Lines up Trains http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20129
Vodafone Joins Deutsche Bahn in Fight to Cover German Rail Network http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20128
Station WiFi Spreading – as Waterloo Joins the Pack http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20123
Passengera to Supply WiFi to Riders on the Riyadh Metro http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20122
Mumbai Trains Start Free On-Board Infotainment Services http://traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20118
Satellite – No Longer Pie in the Sky for On-Train WiFi? http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20117
Through the Looking Glass – Swiss Company Cuts the Need for On-Train Repeaters? http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20116
Budget Boost for Deutsche Bahn as Head Vows WiFi Improvement http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20115
Major Data Centre Deal Signed to Support Tube Connectivity Roll Out http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20114
New Canadian Trains Get Ten-Year WiFi Deal with Icomera http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20098
Major RFP Issued for On-board Content on Over 2,000 Trains http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20097
Impressive Investment in Polish Trains will see WiFi Everywhere http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20096
Huge Passenger Survey Underlines Importance of On-Board Connectivity http://www.traincomms.com/news_detail.cfm?item=20064
BWCS Consultancy
As many companies start to look forward at how they can increase their revenues, remember that BWCS is available for ad hoc consultancy to support your aspirations. Our core competencies including Understanding your markets, Growing your business, and Modelling your business options. Although we are best known for our work in the Transport sector, we also work in the Defence & Security and the Telecommunications Sectors too. Please get in touch to discuss your requirements and if we can help we will, and if we can’t we will tell you so… ChrisBD@BWCS.com
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