The growing role of advanced wireless communications in transport hubs and transport networks has been underlined by two recent deals in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state, southwestern India, involving the city’s metro and a new airport.
Bharti Airtel is planning to provide 5G connectivity across the ten new stations of the recently inaugurated 33.5-kilometre Mumbai Metro Line-3 (the Aqua Line), connecting key transit hubs such as the Terminal 2 (T2) airport and Santacruz.
With the improved connectivity Airtel suggests it should be possible to enjoy fast mobile internet, crystal-clear voice calls, and uninterrupted data transmission throughout journeys on this line. Airtel explains that it has deployed dedicated in-building solutions at each underground metro station to provide consistent, high-quality connectivity for commuters.
This is far from the first example of wireless connectivity on a citywide rail network in India. As we reported recently, Vodafone Idea has deployed its 4G network across the entire route of the Mumbai Metro Line-3, while Airtel has added 5G to some parts of the Pune metro, also in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, Indian company Frog Cellsat, a manufacturer of RF equipment, has won a deal from telecom network benchmarking services provider Metro Telworks Limited to deploy its OneDAS solution (an active distributed antenna system) for enhancing 4G and 5G mobile coverage at the new Navi Mumbai International Airport, due to open early next year.
DAS is a network of antennas that work together to provide wireless service in a specific area, often indoors, amplifying and distributing the signal from the base station. They can improve wireless coverage and capacity in areas traditional cellular infrastructure has difficulty reaching.
Frog Cellsat says that the OneDAS solution will enhance 4G and 5G mobile network coverage throughout the airport, ensuring seamless connectivity for millions of travellers, airport employees and stakeholders.
The same company has been awarded OneDAS deployments at both the Jewar International Airport in Noida, a planned city in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai.
The Navi Mumbai project is expected to be completed by the 2025 financial year.
