Andrew to Upgrade Communications Infrastructure of Singapore's North East Line Mass Transit Rail System

(Business News & Technology News, 16 Sep 2008)

Andrew, the CommScope Inc. division that focuses on communications systems and products, has won a major contract to upgrade the existing communications infrastructure on one of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit rail lines to support a third generation wireless network—the first 3G service for an underground radio network in Singapore.

As part of this project, Andrew will work with IntraWave, the infrastructure service provider for commercial wireless services on the North East Line of Singapore's MRT rail network. The existing communications infrastructure, which Andrew designed and was activated in 2002, supports only second generation, or 2G, mobile devices. This upgrade is designed to provide North East Line commuters with better overall wireless coverage and reception, as well as greater bandwidth and download speeds when using 3G mobile devices. This is intended to enable commuters to make full use of mobile applications such as video calls, video and music downloads and Internet services.

"This project elevates wireless coverage on Singapore's underground mass transit system to the next level," says Matt Melester, Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Innovations, Andrew. "It is designed to enable commuters to reap the full benefits of 3G technology while on the move—something that will be welcomed by the many Singapore residents here who are tech-savvy consumers and early adopters of technology."

The infrastructure upgrade will support the various 3G applications and services offered by the three local Singapore operators—SingTel Mobile, StarHub Mobile and MobileOne Network.

Andrew will provide a complete end¨Cto-end service for IntraWave, from designing and manufacturing the required system components, through to on-site installation. Andrew will deploy its ION-M fiber distributed antenna system in the underground, with remote units installed at each of the line's 16 stations connecting into the ION system for 2G and 3G coverage throughout.

Andrew also will install the Andrew Integrated Management and Operating System (A.I.M.O.S.), a software-based solution for fault, configuration and inventory management for distributed antenna systems, enabling operators to detect and track any problems in their network.

The installation, commissioning and testing period has begun and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

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