TETRA – Taking care of transport

Across Europe and around the world, public private and commercial transport systems are managed, connected and protected by TETRA (Terrestrial Trunked Radio), the digital trunked mobile radio standard. The TETRA standard was developed by ETSI to meet the needs of traditional Professional Mobile Radio (PMR) user organisations, and utilises a scalable architecture. This makes the technology accessible to a wide variety of network operators as the design enables cost-effective deployments, ranging from single site local area coverage, to multiple site wide area national and international coverage; the ideal choice for the transportation sector.

Globally, the TETRA market is experiencing strong growth. By end of Q1 2007, the number of reported TETRA contracts had grown 32 per cent since September 2006. TETRA is now used in 94 countries – 57 of which are outside Europe – with the fastest growth demonstrated in the Asia Pacific (57 per cent) and Middle East (34 per cent) regions.

Transportation accounts for over one fifth of the global TETRA market, second only to the public safety sector. When TETRA is referred to in the transportation market, it includes its use in private transport (in taxis, for example), Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) such as bus, tram and metro, air and sea ports and harbours, and railways.

TETRA’s contribution to transportation varies around the world with regions at different stages of growth. Over a third of the TETRA market in Asia Pacific is in transportation, while for Europe it is approximately 25 per cent. There is significant potential in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America. The latter has one of the largest implementations in the SIACO project, where Brazilian railway operator MRS Logistica SA has replaced its current signalling and communications system with an advanced management and operation control system relying on TETRA for voice and data communication services. TETRA is used along 1,500km of the railway, crossing three major Brazilian states; Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Changing regulatory attitudes

Adoption of TETRA in the transportation and other non-public safety markets has been relatively slow, with the majority of growth occurring in the last few years, as independent TETRA consultant Tony Gray explains: “Acquiring licences to operate in a suitable frequency spectrum for TETRA has traditionally been difficult, if not impossible, in many territories. However, this situation is changing, and a pendulum swing in regulatory attitudes has taken place, particularly across Europe, towards a far more open and deregulated market for pricing and sharing of spectrum. As a consequence, adequate numbers of channels in bands suitable for TETRA are becoming easier to acquire, and more operators are choosing TETRA solutions accordingly.”

Streamlining communications

The first commercial TETRA contract in the world was in the transportation sector – for Gardermoen Airport in Oslo – nearly 11 years ago. Over a decade later, TETRA is still the communications choice for airports, with European implementations this year alone including Sofia in Bulgaria, Munich and Leipsig/Halle in Germany, and Barcelona, La Coruña, and Vigo Airports in Spain. At Barcelona Airport, Iberia Airways has implemented TETRA to reduce plane downtime by improving communication between teams working at the airport, and now has ground crews, gate staff, maintenance teams and baggage handlers all on one system.

“Significant cost savings can be achieved by tailoring the TETRA handset functionality to access the capabilities of the back office systems, such as databases with flight information. Possible applications include WAP browsing into databases and Java applications to look into and accept tasks,” says Bert Bouwers of Rohill.

Small organisations can also benefit from TETRA. In Denmark, Fyns Taxa comprises eight independent taxi companies and control centres that have employed TETRA. Each taxi is equipped with an onboard system including TFT colour touch-screen with an integrated navigation system, magnetic and smart-card reader, printer, electronic taximeter, camera, and computer with GPS. The TETRA system replaced the existing analogue communications, and enables the taxis to be ‘virtually’ managed by each of the control centres.

In Greece, Volos City Taxi chose TETRA technology to help boost operational efficiency. Automated GPS tracking provides data that enables the company to plan routes and improve resource management, and thus improve productivity across the fleet. When the move to TETRA was announced, it was expected that an increase in job output of at least 30 per cent would be achieved as a result of the investment in TETRA technology.

The harbour authorities of Antwerp, Le Havre, and Hamburg in Europe rely on TETRA, and it is TETRA technology that manages the passage of vessels through the 80km Panama Canal; one of the world’s busiest commercial waterways. The Panama Canal Authority chose TETRA over MPT 1327 and Project 25 to meet the requirements of multi-vendor sourcing, because of its best-in-class technology, security, and competitive pricing.

Safety and security on public transport

TETRA is widely used on buses, trams and rail networks around the world. The design of TETRA fits in well to the general needs of the public transportation sector and its requirements for speed, reliability and security of both voice and data. Today, there is a shift towards a greater need for security and data services. Systems can be used primarily for control and emergency communications, especially for vehicle groups. All buses on a particular route, for example, can use group calling, signalling, and data services (such as location positioning) to track and time each vehicle.

Sebastien Sabatier, now at Thales, was project manager for the first TETRA network implementation in France, for Dunkerque Urban Council in 1999. Today, he is engaged with the TETRA project for Sytral; the integrated public transport system in the Lyon metropolitan region that includes the Lyon metro system, buses, trams and trolley buses.

“Initially, TETRA capabilities for the transport sector were greater than the market recognised,” said Sabatier. “Today’s implementations are far more complex, partly because of the advances in technology but equally because the customers, and the advising consultants, are far more aware of what TETRA technology can do. Sytral interconnects vehicles, control rooms, passenger terminals, transport information points, drivers and maintenance staff with both voice and data capability. Although the Dunkerque system was initiated by the ultimately unsuccessful Dolphin operator, we have Dolphin to thank for opening up the market in Europe and initiating the learning curve and the potential for precision, detail and speed,” concluded Sabatier.

Asia leading the way

Tony Gray offers another perspective. “These days PMR users are generally also experienced in using the features and facilities available on their personal and business mobile phones. As a result, and not unreasonably, they tend to expect cellular functionality from their TETRA systems. This grassroots impetus towards more feature-rich mobile communications solutions can be seen to be having a knock-on effect on requirement specifications for professional systems such as TETRA in the transportation and other markets.”

Although originally a European standard, the relative uptake of TETRA in the transportation market is greatest in the Asia Pacific region, which also has some of the most advanced system implementations. In Europe there is a move towards much more integration of transport systems, such as Sytral and RATP in France. Some implementations however, can suffer from delays, with spectrum and network sharing issues preventing co-operation. Decision making, inter-agency co-operation and willingness to invest in the latest technology is arguably more evident in Asia.

Advanced integrated systems

One of the most advanced integrated systems operator is the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) in Hong Kong, which is in the process of rolling out a TETRA network across its light rail and bus networks. The system connects the light rail and feeder buses, traffic control, administration offices and maintenance depots.

In the first adaptation of its kind, customised log-on templates for the TETRA radios have been provided to KCRC so that each driver can be identified by vehicle, route and number during his shift. This automates scheduling as well as allowing traffic controllers to instantly identify and speak to individual drivers, and know exactly where they are.

Devdarsh Jain of Artevea Digital explains the additional challenges: “In Hong Kong, there are environmental considerations in terms of both topography and climate, such as achieving on-vehicle GPS in a city of skyscrapers. The operational challenges include strict regulations on the use of radios, and that means bespoke accessories are needed for operational, security and maintenance staff, so that they can be in constant contact while travelling.”

More demanded of the technology

Transportation users are becoming ever more demanding of communications technology, and they are looking to TETRA to meet those expectations. Although still the key requirement in emergency situations, voice alone is no longer enough. TETRA is being asked to provide location information, man-machine communications for maintenance and security, and CCTV and video are being used onboard public transportation systems to increase driver and passenger safety.

Earlier this year, TETRA proved its capability at speed on the mainline trains, as TETRA trackside-to-train speech and data transmission was achieved at 574.8km/h by ETELM in France during the world speed record for a train. Base stations were located trackside, adjacent to the passing train. In Russia, the Russian Railways have selected TETRA as the Train to Ground technology for their 84,000km network.

Going forward, the TETRA Association is planning to formalise a TETRA rail proposal to provide operators with new options in their technology decision. The TETRA Association Rail Group, known as the TETRA Rail Forum, will identify the specific operational needs for voice and data services, particularly within rail signalling, control and train protection. Its main objective is to analyse the technical interfacing needs of such applications and jointly develop guidelines and best practices for system integrators to deliver proven safe systems, particularly for Metro operations. By 2008, the TETRA Rail Forum is expected to have a clear picture of the requirements, the impact on the TETRA roadmap, and the amount of research and development commitment required.

TETRA 2 – key to new features

David Taylor, a senior consultant at Mason Communications, sees the arrival of TETRA 2 as the key development in the delivery of new features and functionality. “In Europe, TETRA is attractive to the big transport suppliers who deliver Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) systems, as it gives them integrated voice and data capability. RATP in Paris are implementing a very large TETRA network that will ultimately cover bus, metro and rail. With the advent of TETRA 2, applications such as streaming video from passenger vehicles and panic-button video camera capability can become part of the TETRA network, with the higher data rates making mission-critical data communications a reality.”

At this year’s TETRA World Congress in Madrid, TETRA 2 transmissions were demonstrated publicly for the first time, and the Norwegian authorities have become the first to directly specify TETRA 2 capability in the tender for their nationwide Nødnett network. The arrival of true broadband capability over TETRA, combined with its existing proven speed, security and reliability, signals a paradigm shift for the technology. For transportation, as well as for its other markets around the world, TETRA brings a renewed strength to communications and huge potential for driving the market forward, and meeting the increasingly sophisticated requirements from both operators and end-users alike.

Anyone with an interest in participating or requiring further information should contact the Association by email to: [email protected]. Alternatively, get in touch with Thomas Aquino at [email protected], or Phil Harley at [email protected]; the Chairman and Deputy of the TETRA Rail Forum respectively.