Clear CinCom-Cellular Network Services

In cooperation with Tunis railway operator Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Tunisiens (SNCFT, Tunisian Railway) and Nokia Siemens Networks, Clear CinCom has set up the first full GSM-R network on the African continent. The train route between Tunis and Sfax now has increased safety, security and reliability thanks to an integral communication network adhering to the latest European GSM Railway standard.

Clear CinCom was chosen by SNCFT as the telecom consultancy of choice because of its hands one approach, custom made GMR-R tools and more than 10 years of experience in the field of GSM-R. Says Mr. Charni, director of telecommunications at SNCFT: “From day one, the specialists of Clear CinCom exhibited a very professional attitude, which instilled great confidence on our side. Their approach was very methodical and brought much efficiency to the project. This helped us get the results we desired within the originally envisioned timeframe”.

For this GSM-R project, Clear CinCom provided a nominal cell plan and, based on their continuous wave (CW) measurements, the company established and fine-tuned the empirical prediction model. Combined with on-site surveys along the entire route, this resulted in a final cell plan including traffic, frequency and neighbor plans.

According to Martijn Kuijpers, director and head engineer, Clear CinCom was able to make the network meet and exceed the requirements set by the Tunisian government. The validation report (see illustration) shows how the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were met with comfortable margins thanks to an efficient setup and intelligent tuning of both the hardware and software components of the GSM-R network.