China's Ministry of Railways (MOR) and Nortel have signed a framework agreement for Nortel to provide GSM Railway (GSM-R) switching centers to enable digital mobile signaling and operational communications along passenger lines spanning 20 of China's 31 provinces. The Nortel GSM-R switching centers will cover nearly half of MOR's national railway footprint, serving both conventional railway lines as well as planned high-speed lines. Seven switching centers will be deployed at key locations nationwide, supplementing two switching centers previously deployed in 2005.
"MOR's selection of Nortel switching centers puts us in a favorable position for future business as China furthers its commitment to GSM-R for railway communications," said Robert Mao, president and chief executive officer, Greater China, Nortel. "To further enhance the experience of millions of passengers traveling China's railways each day, a comprehensive and advanced communications network will help China power the rapid growth of its railway network and, in particular, its migration to 200-300km per hour fast trains."
Nortel will be providing MOR with its mobile switching center solution - a flexible circuit and packet switching platform that delivers leading reliability complemented by the features and services required to manage and grow a core network. Nortel's full, end-to-end GSM-R solution also includes a railway-customized GSM-R base transceiver station for better trackside coverage under severe environmental conditions, and is scalable to support GPRS and high-speed data and voice communications."
Posted to the site on 22nd May 2006
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/17466.php