Audi selects TETRA for reliable communications on-site

3T Communications, in partnership with its parent company Sepura, has been awarded a prestigious contract to provide a TETRA mobile communications network to Audi’s headquarters and largest production plant in Ingolstadt, Germany. The solution combines 3T’s TETRA infrastructure with Sepura’s terminals to ensure consistent communications coverage over the 2.6 million m² site.

The network will operate in challenging environments - from the noisy production floor which includes the body-shop, paint-shop and assembly line, to the transmissions and emissions centre, the wind tunnel and technical development centres through to the Neustadt an der Donau proving ground. In addition to these hostile conditions, it will also be required to handle high volumes of voice and data traffic to support the company’s complex central services such as the plant fire brigade, factory security, logistics and process control communications.

To meet these requirements, TETRA emerged as the obvious choice, and the system chosen uses 3T’s flexible eXTRAS TETRA system together with 630 Sepura radio terminals - including the award-winning, intrinsically safe STP8X radio, the high-performance STP8000 handheld terminal, the powerful SRG3900 mobile radio and the SRC3300 covert terminal. The system is being developed, delivered and installed with the support of Abel & Käufl Mobilfunkhandels.

“After evaluating the options, we awarded the contract based on the system that would deliver the best in terms of functionality and reliability, to fulfil both our immediate and ongoing demands,” commented Klaus Goettl, responsible for the Radio Communication Network and Head of Automation at Audi. “We believe the communications solution plays a key role in the efficiency of the production site and test tracks, and as such will help to improve our complex operations immensely.”

“We are delighted to have won this significant contract with Audi. The combination of 3T and Sepura has once again delivered a compelling solution for industry and the increasing integration of our two businesses will only strengthen the offering in the longer term,” said Thomas Haschberger, CEO at 3T Communications.