TETRA-G Technology from Team Simoco Deployed in New Digital Communications Service at London Heathrow Airport » Local Government » 24dash.com

TETRA-G technology from Team Simoco has been deployed in the new digital communications service at London Heathrow Airport, in what will be the single largest TETRA network dedicated to commercial use in the UK

The TETRA-G based communications service has been installed by AirRadio, and is an addition to its existing portfolio of systems at London Heathrow Airport. Known as AR-en the Enhanced Network from AirRadio the digital system will enable customers at the worlds busiest international airport the opportunity to maximise the use of data applications for operational processes over a private business radio network.

Customers using the new digital communications service at Heathrow will benefit from rapid call set-up, enhanced speech quality and improved noise cancellation, which will result in quicker and more precise communications between users, and crucially enhanced levels of communications privacy, an important consideration with the transmission of commercially and security sensitive information.

A key benefit of the private TETRA network is that airport customers get exclusivity of service by not having to compete for access with non-business users, including the travelling public. System capacity and performance are actively managed by AirRadio, ensuring that the system remains active and uncongested during any emergency situation and enabling all customers to communicate immediate instructions regarding their operations.

Mike Norfield, managing director of Team Simoco said: The new TETRA-G system complements the current analogue Xfin system already in use at Heathrow, and is further confirmation that our analogue and digital radio solutions have the functionality and resilience to be used in the most demanding of operating environments. With TETRA-G in use at the worlds leading airports and also for mission-critical security operations, Team Simocos digital technology is clearly able to deliver the highest levels of voice and data comms.

AirRadio Managing Director, Brian Nicholson confirmed: "Establishing a dedicated digital TETRA service at London Heathrow which is focused on offering data applications underlines AirRadio's commitment to future-proofing our customers' communications and recognises the fact that Business Radio is a vital component in the overall telecommunications strategy for companies operating in mission-critical environments. We are confident that customers will benefit from enhanced levels of access and grade of service running data applications over our private network than they could achieve on public networks."

Deploying TETRA-G technology from Team Simoco replicates the system that has been in use at Birmingham International Airport since June 2006. TETRA data experts Infomatrix, a wholly-owned Team Simoco company, will be assisting AirRadio with system testing, as well as providing their own specialist data compression software [i]-SqZ to maximise the speed of data transfer over the AR-en network for live applications.

Team Simoco is also working closely with AirRadio to develop its data showcase at the groups Heathrow headquarters. The data showcase uses TETRA-G technology to illustrate the ways that data can improve operational performance in a live network environment, and will be opening in summer 2008.

Data applications being evaluated at the showcase include: Airport Intranet Access, Event Tracking, Task Allocation, Picture & Video Transmission, Vehicle Location and Foreign Object Detection software all of which play a vital role in the smooth running of the airport, aiding efficient turnaround of aircraft ensuring on-time departures for passengers. Many of these applications will run on PDA or ruggedised devices appropriate to the airport environment, linked from radio handsets using Bluetooth connectivity that allow data/task processing on a standard Windows Mobile operating system.