Andrew Wins the Race to Install Wireless Coverage System in New Chinese Train

Aug 06, 2008

As improvement projects for the 2008 Summer Olympics race to a close, a new high speed train sprinting between Beijing and Tianjin in China is supporting super-fast wireless communications onboard thanks to Andrew, the CommScope, Inc. division that is a global leader in communications systems and products.

Andrew and Siemens jointly designed an advanced wireless communications system for the CRH3 Harmony multiple unit trains, which were developed specifically for the Olympics and have maximum speeds of 350 kilometers per hour. The CRH3 trains began running on the Beijing-Tianjin high speed railway line on August 1, helping bring guests from all corners of the world to Beijing for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

"We are honored to bring our technology and experience to one of the major local infrastructure projects of the Beijing Olympics," said Matt Melester, vice president and general manager, Wireless Innovations, Andrew. "Providing reliable wireless signals in high speed trains is challenging because of diverse terrain and constantly changing signal levels, but Andrew boasts a rich history of successes in such projects worldwide. Andrew is proud to help in the rapid development of China's rail transportation."

Andrew installed and deployed MIR-T in-train repeaters in some compartments, which transmit and receive wireless signals to passenger handheld devices from existing base stations near the railways, providing passengers with high-quality and high-reliability mobile phone signals while they travel. The company also conducted extensive on-site testing and radio frequency measurements to confirm the system will meet passenger expectations. All those travelling the 120 kilometers between Beijing and Tianjin can now pass the time on activities such as talking to friends or checking business email.

Andrew is a leader in repeater product technology, as evidenced by the dynamic gain control of its MIR-T in-train repeater series, which automatically adjusts the upstream and downstream gains, preventing excessive high upstream noise from decreasing the reception sensitivity near the base station. On high speed trains, the upstream and downstream gains must be adjusted rapidly to maintain the relative stability of the wireless signals for passengers onboard. Andrew's MIR-T in-train repeaters, which are mounted using a standard 19-inch cabinet, have low power consumption and are unique in their wide-spectrum voltage adaptability, again meeting the needs of the transport environment.

Andrew has provided wireless coverage systems for China's railways before, most recently in the Beijing Metro's six lines, also in preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Andrew offers operators worldwide a complete portfolio of coverage and capacity products including ION(TM) fiber distribution antenna systems, Node repeaters, RADIAX(R) leaky coaxial cables, and indoor antennas and passive devices. It boasts over 15 years of experience in designing, testing, installing and managing complicated wireless signal distribution systems for metropolitan railways, tramways, and other large-sized construction projects. Among numerous other projects, Andrew previously was chosen to provide coverage and capacity for the Turin, Italy, underground in advance of the 2006 Winter Olympics and for many of the 2006 World Cup venues in Germany. Past projects that included furnishing in-train repeaters for high-speed rail systems occurred in Taiwan, Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, and Norway.