Clear CinCom-Cellular Network Services

EoG radio access traffic dimensioning Utrecht

Client: ProRail   

Railway operators throughout Europe and beyond are preparing for the rollout of ERTMS and the new IP-based standard for railway communications, the successor to the circuit switch based ETCS network. Clear CinCom contributed to the roadmap of ERTMS by conducting a desktop study into GSM-R coverage and carrier to interference ratio in the greater Utrecht area of The Netherlands. The propose was to investigate the required traffic dimensioning of the radio access interface – effectively calculating the capacity required per transmitter per traffic component source (data, voice, etc) to ensure optimal distribution of bandwidth. For this study, Clear CinCom relied heavily on the radio planning tool Atoll.

 

Nation-wide radio access performance measurement campaign

Client: ProRail   

The object of this project was to establish a performance baseline prior to the upgrade of the GSM-R radio access system. This allowed Dutch railway operator ProRail to compare the “before and after” performance after a third-party vendor installed a new generation of BTS equipment that upgraded the network to full IP-based, in line with new and stricter regulations as stipulated in the latest Subset093 and O-2475 specifications. Clear CinCom conducted a series of one time measurements at various locations along the track, mainly Subset093 performance measurements, with both circuit switched and packet switched setups.

 

Optimization and Acceptance measurement of first Hungarian GSM-R radio access network

Client: Kapsch Carrier Com   

In a particularly complex technical and political environment, Clear CinCom helped Kapsch Carrier Com with the optimization and acceptance of the first GSM-R radio access network for the Hungarian railway operator MAV. Various verification, tuning and other activities related to the radio network were carried out on the service areas Main line, Shunting areas, Connecting lines, Indoor locations and a predefined bandwidth around the track zone. The network is used for both voice and ETCS level 2 data, for which reliable access with a Quality of Service compliant to the international standards needed to be retained at normal operational and high travelling speeds. Full redundancy was achieved through an A-flex core network and BTS-R architecture comprising remote radio heads operating in both the GSM-R as well as the extended GSM-R frequency band. The technical environment was complex, as the Budapest ring area is subjected to heavy interference from commercial public land mobile network operators (PLMN). The political environment was complicated too, given the fact that it was controlled by multiple stakeholders. The national railway operator MAV, the infrastructure ministry NISZ, the Notified Body (NoBo) that was to ensure international certification for cross-border transportation, the EU observer (the project was financed by the EU) as well as an independent engineering company were all overseeing the project.

 

PLMN indoor availability verification Traffic Control Utrecht

Client: ProRail   

The central dispatcher location of The Netherlands is located in Utrecht. When the dispatcher centre moved into a new building, Clear CinCom was asked by railway operator ProRail to verify the indoor availability of commercial telecom providers (PLMN) at the new location. ProRail uses commercial networks as a fall back in case of issues with the dedicated GSM-R network, and it was expected that the new building – which is a massive steel construction – might require a dedicate solution to improve indoor coverage.

 

Static PLMN interference measurements

Client: ProRail   

One problem faced by railway operators is interference by commercial telecom operators, also called PLMN interference. At the request of Dutch railway operator ProRail, Clear CinCom conducted a number of static interference measurements on stations and along railway lines. This effectively meant installing a small mast and recording performance for a specific location, whereby we identify, characterize and report on possible sources of interference. Our reports are used by ProRail to negotiate with the public operators in order to mitigate the interference and ensure a correct functioning of the GSM-R network throughout the country. This is an ongoing project, where Clear CinCom steps in on an as-needed basis.