Solid Technologies, Comba Grab Subway DAS projects

September 28, 2012

Solid Technologies’ Alliance neutral-host system has been selected by Transit Wireless to support a DAS being designed to provide wireless coverage and capacity throughout the New York City Subway System including underground stations, mezzanines and corridors.

The multi-year project includes 277 stations, 30 of which are scheduled to go live by the end of 2012. The New York City Subway is the largest and oldest rapid transit rail system in the nation. The scale of the system plus the harsh, subterranean environment makes the project uniquely challenging.

“The RFP process was long and detail oriented. It started with general pricing and solution modeling based upon Solid’s DAS and optical distribution products and included everything from gear specifications and certifications to pricing and delivery commitments,” Seth Buechley, Solid Technologies president, told DAS Bulletin. “It then evolved into derivatives of our Alliance multi-service DAS platform.”

Solid’s technology was also used in the Seoul Metro subway system, and Buechley said that experience was instrumental in securing the NYC contract. “We demonstrated success having deployed a DAS at the Seoul Metro and the ability for quick-turn around through our corporate R&D facility,” he said.

Transit Wireless CEO, William A. Bayne agreed, “Solid’s extensive subway experience in Korea and ability to rapidly customize products and applications make the company ideally-suited to support our mission to enable state-of-the-art wireless coverage to all underground subway stations in New York City.”

Another subway contract has been awarded this month to Comba Telecom Systems by the Bangkok Metro Public Company Limited (BMCL) to provide an end-to-end neutral-host wireless solution to enable 2G and 3G voice and data communications throughout the underground railway network, which serves over 240,000 passengers daily and comprises 18 stations, concourses, tunnels, platforms, and retail stores within the concourses.

Comba Telecom will replace the existing 2G system with a multi-system (2G/3G) active DAS, which includes the DAS repeaters, antennas, passive equipment, cabling and services such as RF design, installation, optimization and maintenance.

Eric Ng, general manager of Southeast Asia for Comba Telecom said, “The modular nature of our DAS solution means that BMCL will be equipped with a scalable system which can be expanded to integrate future requirements such as 4G technologies or new subway lines.”