Better connection for railway stations thanks to the state-of-the-art Distributed Antenna System (DAS).
That’s the goal of the project that the FS Italiane Group has undertaken together with TIM subsidiary INWIT, to create a telecommunications (TLC) infrastructure that optimises signal reception for mobile phone operators and boosts the internet connection on smartphones, tablets and PCs.
The project involves the railway stations managed by GrandiStazioni Rail, an FS Italiane Group company, which in recent years have become genuine meeting places and locations for socialising in city centres: Bologna Centrale, Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Napoli Centrale, Roma Termini, Roma Tiburtina, Torino Porta Nuova, Venezia Mestre, Venezia Santa Lucia and Verona Porta Nuova.
“The FS Italiane Group is striking out into the future through this initiative, which also confirms our commitment to seeking out cutting-edge technological solutions,” states Alessandro La Rocca, Head of Innovation and Information Systems for FS Italiane. “Installing the DAS in stations will enhance smartphone and PC use on devices that exploit 2G, 3G, 4G and 4G+ transmission technology. We were keen to embark on this partnership in order to prepare ourselves for the introduction of 5G data transmission technology, which will allow us to implement increasingly innovative applications. The FS Italiane Group is in the process of designing new services for those who travel and pass through railway stations every day. We will continue to support the development of 5G technology.”
“The partnership between the FS Italiane Group and INWIT will mean that travellers and visitors to Italy's biggest railway stations can have optimal connectivity through their devices at all times,” stresses Giovanni Ferigo, Chief Executive Officer of INWIT. “We’re providing a response to the constant demand for mobile connectivity by producing systems such as DAS throughout Italy, to improve coverage for operators at particularly high-traffic indoor and outdoor sites, also with the future of the new 5G technology in mind. Thanks to micro antennas located in stations, airports, hospitals, shopping centres, stadiums and urban areas where many people congregate, we’ll guarantee constantly high-quality signal reception for operators and the possibility to make use of innovative services wherever you are.”
Building the DAS, made up of micro indoor and outdoor antennas, allows for a considerable improvement in signal reception and customer experience through the current 2G, 3G, 4G and 4G+ mobile phone systems. DAS infrastructure makes these stations 5G-ready, set up for the introduction of this innovative technology, which mobile operators will make use of as early as this year in Italy.
The DAS features an electronic unit that receives the mobile operators’ signal via fibre-optic cable and transmits it with a power and radio signal stability that would not be possible using only large antennas outside of the station. A series of micro antennas, distributed throughout all areas of the stations, permits phone calls without problems of interference or cutting out and boosts high-speed connection capacity for all those activities that are now part of our daily lives.
Micro antennas are tools essential to the correct operation of 5G technology, which requires a constant and powerful signal. This not only allows it to send and receive documents and video content in a shorter time frame than currently possible, but also to support all innovations in relation to the Internet of Things (IoT).
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GrandiStazioni Rail (FS Italiane Group) modernises, enhances and manages Italy’s fourteen biggest railway stations: Bari Centrale, Bologna Centrale, Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Genova Brignole, Genova Piazza Principe, Milano Centrale, Napoli Centrale, Palermo Centrale, Roma Termini, Roma Tiburtina, Torino Porta Nuova, Venezia Mestre, Venezia Santa Lucia and Verona Porta Nuova. The company focuses on infrastructure activities and full implementation of the investment plan, with the goal of ensuring oversight of key station businesses for travellers and all those who work there.
With over 11,000 towers providing extensive coverage in Italy and as a neutral host, INWIT aims to enhance mobile services for their users, making its antennas available to all mobile phone operators. INWIT is also developing an infrastructure comprising microcells and DAS to enable ever better reception for mobile services in indoor and outdoor areas with high connection demand.
Rome, 11 March 2019
