South Korean railways to get next-gen communication devices

South Korean railway communications are set to get a boost as RF-Comm works to develop high-speed LTE-R devices.

Underpinned by Softil’s BEEHD technology — a cross-platform framework for developing IP-based mission-critical LTE (VoLTE and ViLTE) communications — the devices are expected to support PTT group correspondence, broadcasting, location dependent addressing and multilevel prioritisation, according to Softil. They’ll also allow data transmission for train control signalling and other operations and maintenance, text messaging during voice communication and multimedia messaging for wireless video surveillance, mobile videoconference, file sharing, mobile office and passenger infotainment services, Softil said.

Railways are migrating to LTE-R communications, which offer lower latency, higher data capacity and better security than Global System for Mobile Communications Railway set-ups, Softil said.

The move also follows South Korea’s policy that “all public service communications, including trains, police and firefighting services switch to broadband technologies”, Softil added.

“South Korea is now on a par with China and Japan as the world’s leading high-speed railway network”, with trains reaching 330 km/h, RF-Comm CEO Dong Hyung, Kim claimed, along with KORAIL’s website.

“We chose to build RF-Comm’s new LTE-R communications devices for KORAIL using Softil’s BEEHD technology as it offers the best quality, most advanced standards compliance and significant time-to-market advantage,” Dong Hyung said.

The devices are expected to roll out over the Daegok to Sosa KTX intercity line, KORAIL’s highest-level service, with use to start in early 2021.

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