Green lights for WiMAX from Madurai to Moscow
[FAC: Here we see a couple of interesting twists on one of the themes we discussed earlier with respect to the re-purposing of public infrastructure. Whereas, I mentioned and Rob S. followed up by citing the use of in-place fiber belonging to traffic departments -- who typically behave like fiefdoms, unless forced to hand over available fibers -- here we observe a couple of cases where WiMAX, itself, is being installed to support highway and vehicular traffic functions for transportation departments and other government agencies. From wimaxday.net : ]
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Green lights for WiMAX from Madurai to Moscow
MOSCOW (WiMAX Day). An increasing number of cities and municipalities around the world are turning to WiMAX technology to provide data transport in the management of road congestion and traffic analysis.
This week, Russian WiMAX operator Synterra announced that it has begun to work with the Department of Transport in Moscow to deploy a WiMAX solution that aids in the management of traffic.
The project will entail testing the operation of an automated traffic control system in Moscow, with wireless broadband connectivity between roadside sensors enabled by WiMAX. Synterra will use its WiMAX network to connect eight traffic monitors to the central traffic management system along 7.5 km of highway.
The test zone is in one of the most heavily traversed roads in Moscow, which suffers some of the worst traffic congestion of any city in the world. The new traffic control system will soon cover all highways around Moscow, and will analyse basic traffic flow, manage traffic lights, and even search for stolen vehicles.
A similar Intelligent Transport System (ITS) was announced this week for deployment in Madurai, India, where WiMAX will be used for live monitoring and regulation of vehicles. According to a report in The Hindu, the Commissioner of Police in Madurai plans to install speed-dome cameras at major intersections and along congested roads, all connected by WiMAX. The network is being planned to transmit visual images of traffic to big screens at the Police Control Room.
“In the first phase, we have plans to install cameras at five junctions enabling live transmission of traffic. A dedicated team would monitor the vehicular flow round-the-clock. In case of traffic congestion, remedial measures can be taken immediately,” the Assistant Commissioner of Police said in the report.
Fast deployment at low cost
One of the advantages of using a WiMAX network to transmit time-sensitive traffic data is that a network can be easily installed, and its cost is comparatively inexpensive. The alternative would be to link roadside sensors by cable or fibre optic, which requires installation either above ground, or below. Both require significant time and expense to install, and during the term of installation only adds to the traffic congestion.
In recent years, ITS has become standard in most large cities that require traffic management. Most cities have typically employed cable links between sensors, monitors and central command. As new networks are created, systems engineers have looked at other wireless technology to replace cabling. Systems with GSM, CDMA and even 3G technologies have been tested, along with traditional narrow-band RFID tags. However none of these systems have been able to keep up with the data demands of traffic systems.
A recent report by researchers at Tongji University in Shanghai concluded that WiMAX was the leading wireless technology to be used for ITS solutions, and was proposed for use in a network that would improve traffic management in Shanghai in preparation for the 2010 WorldExpo. The researchers noted that the strength of WiMAX, among all other possible wireless solutions, is a result of the bandwidth capability of WiMAX, its support of QoS and IPv6 (both of which are important for ensuring network security), the ability of WiMAX to transmit over great distances, and of course the superior price advantage of WiMAX over other solutions.
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