Mass Transit Wi-Fi
BelAir Networks rugged, high-performance broadband wireless products are deployed in trains, stations, trackside and railyards to support a variety of applications including public Wi-Fi access, video security, and train mechanical telematics and diagnostics. BelAir Neworks addresses both the trackside infrastructure and on-board broadband wireless equipment required to support high-performance mobile broadband communications, even in high-speed trains.
Beyond the obvious captive customers with both time and Wi-Fi enabled devices on their hands are a whole host of safety and operational efficiency objectives driving the deployment of trackside and in-vehicle broadband wireless infrastructure. BelAir Networks enables service providers to deploy one wireless network to support commuter access to mobile Wi-Fi services while also supporting the safety and operation needs of the mass transit authority.
To address the mobility, coverage and backhaul challenges associated with providing mobile broadband service on high-speed mass transit vehicles, BelAir Networks on board units, including the BelAir20M, connect to high capacity trackside wireless infrastructure comprised of BelAir Networks industry-leading outdoor mesh nodes, including the BelAir200 and BelAir100. The combination of on board and trackside infrastructure provides continuous, uninterrupted 802.11n Wi-Fi services.
BelAir Networks products have undergone extensive vibration, shock and bump testing and meet all of the demanding regulatory requirements for railway installations.
Mass transit agencies often choose to deliver Wi-Fi services in a managed service model through leading telecom, cable or other service providers. BelAir Networks products are easy to deploy and operate and can be remotely or centrally managed. They can also integrate with a service provider's back office infrastructure to facilitate service provisioning and bundling, ease deployment and operation, and reduce network commissining and upgrade costs.
On board, the BelAir20M is mounted on the ceiling or interior wall of the train car providing Wi-Fi access for 802.11 n/b/g enabled devices including smartphones and notebooks. Video security cameras can be connected to the BelAir20M via an integrated Ethernet port. Video, voice and data traffic from devices and cameras is backhauled from the second radio of the BelAir20M to the trackside infrastructure, which can operate at a variety of licensed and license-free frequencies including 5 GHz, WiMAX, 5.9 GHz ITS, 4.9 GHz Public Safety and 4.4 GHz (designated for military use).
Comprised of BelAir200 and BelAir100 nodes, the trackside infrastructure requires very few wireline egress points due to BelAir Networks patented switched architecture. This architecture supports much higher bandwidth and more ubiquitous coverage than traditional satellite or cellular options. Seamless connectivity is maintained between the in-train BelAir20M units and the trackside nodes using BelAir's unique "make before break" handover methodology, traditionally associated with cellular networking. This technique reduces handover interruptions to less than 20 ms, resulting in a seamless broadband connection.
In large scale mass transit networks, where wired egress from the wireless networks may include multiple IP domains, industry standard tunneling is used which effectively allows the entire coverage area to be viewed as one seamless domain. This ensures that connections do not get dropped and have to be re-establishde and it also enables carrier-class, scalable, centralized AAA (Authentication, Authorization and Accounting) services.