Nokia and Swiss Federal Railways completed a proof of concept trial helping to define radio frequency for the new Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) standard.
Under the partnership, Nokia and SBB tested the LTE 1900MHz TDD (Time Division Duplex) radio frequency in the cantons of Fribourg and Neuchâtel.
In this frequency proof of concept, Nokia deployed remote radio heads, with tests using rolling stock specially equipped with measurement instruments.
The proof of concept project is a major contribution to delivering FRMCS as essential enabler for smartrail 4.0 programme, that aims to prepare Swiss railways for the digital future.
Currently, the industry standard for rail communications, GSM-R does not provide the necessary bandwidth to deliver all the benefits that FRMCS will offer.
“This work is essential to enable a smooth transition to international deployment of FRMCS and is fundamental to unleashing the potential that the new standard will deliver across security, safety and productivity. SBB is at the forefront of work to define the FRMCS standard, which will provide a gateway to a new generation of rail industry innovation,” said Jochen Apel, Head of Global Transport at Nokia.
FRMCS is expected to be introduced in 2025, bringing benefits to operators and passengers. When fully deployed, FRMCS will be capable of handling the huge volumes of information that underpin new services such as improving the capacity of the existing tracks.
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