LTE is Changing Public Transportation Operational Security

Next Generation Communications Blog

LTE is Changing Public Transportation Operational Security

By Erin Harrison

Long-term evolution (LTE) is driving many changes in the IT landscape, not the least of which is operational security in mass transit. Railway operators and law enforcement agencies are using a range of CCTV technologies in a variety of situations to improve public safety.  Alcatel-Lucent’s TrackTalk e-zine is a great source for information and insights on what LTE can do for enabling a host of capabilities including significantly upgrading in a cost-effective manner video surveillance, IP camera monitoring and what the future of CCTV and surveillance will look like.

In a recent article that takes an expert view perspective, aptly titled, The Changing Face of Operational Security, Jeremy Haskey, Transportation System Integration Division, Alcatel-Lucent notes that, “The hype surrounding the development of LTE is justified…With greater capacity, it has the potential to revolutionize video surveillance by carrying live high-definition video to individual handheld devices carried by security personnel, staff in control centers or directly to the emergency services. The HD images will improve zoom quality making grainy images associated with current CCTV applications a thing of the past.”

Optimization of railway operational security includes design as a major consideration for the effective application of large CCTV networks as well as selecting the right technology from the range of CCTV equipment available to optimize the return on investment. Indeed, once such a system is in place, inevitably all of this information has to go somewhere to be managed and responded to in an effective manner. Multiple voice communications systems, including passenger communications points and security stations also need to be coordinated.  

Alcatel-Lucent’s Integrated Communication Management System (ICMS), for example, acts as the facilitator of this information, also providing operators with the tools to respond to a specific incident. It is part of the company’s overall view on providing railway operators with a comprehensive video protection solution such as the one it is providing with France’s RATP to the Paris Metro system.

“With no single standard available for all emergency services’ and transport operators’ communication equipment, these systems are often not compatible with each other,” says Haskey. The ICMS can decode the information from the various communication and security surveillance systems that are in place, providing integrated communication paths between the different organizations.

To summarize, while LTE technology is still in its initial stages of development, as it evolves, it is imminent that LTE will become the platform that the next generation of security can be built on and developed by the technological community. For more information you may wish to check out the latest issue of TrackTalk which not only has valuable insights but links to many useful resources. 

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