Zetron, a critical communications technology company is partnering with communications electronics giant Nokia to upgrade existing analogue radio infrastructure of the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) with next-generation railway communications equipment.
The agreement includes replacing the existing equipment with a new and improved communications network and calls for Zetron to deploy 52 console positions across eight PTA command centres.
Once implemented, Zetron’s ACOM system with Nokia 4.9G/5G private wireless solutions will provide PTA operators with integrated communications across a far wider data spectrum than the current analogue system allows, enabling mission critical voice, data and video services.
PTA is responsible for overseeing and operating all urban and regional public transport services throughout Western Australia, including buses, road coaches, trains and ferries, providing more than 100 million passenger journeys a year. The new communications network will cover PTA’s urban rail system, spanning more than 250 kilometres.
The next generation railway communications system contract is part of the METRONET infrastructure program, a collaboration across multiple government agencies in Western Australia intended to improve transport, housing and employment in the region. Under the contract, Nokia will build PTA’s new digital communications network, including more than 160 LTE/4.9G radio sites.
“Nokia has deployed mission critical networks to more than 2,600 leading enterprise customers in the transport, energy, large enterprise, manufacturing, webscale, and public sector segments around the globe,” said Rob McCabe, Head of Enterprise for Oceania at Nokia.
“We have also extended our expertise to more than 560 large private wireless customers worldwide across an array of sectors, and we have been cited by numerous industry analysts as the leading provider of private wireless networking worldwide,” McCabe said.
Through these upgrades PTA will have the first railway communications network in Australia capable of supporting public protection and disaster relief management efforts.
“Zetron has forged an excellent relationship with PTA over the past 15 years, resulting in an acute understanding of their communications needs and challenges,” said Brandon Williams, Vice President, Global Sales for Zetron.
“So we’re extremely excited to work with Nokia to build what will be a transformative solution for centralized and distributed mission critical communications for PTA operations personnel wherever and whenever needed,” Williams said.
Paulo Rizal is a content producer for Comms Room. He writes content around popular media, journalism, social media, and more.
