Skip to main content

GSM-R market coverage grows nearly 50 per cent

GSM-R has been used in Europe for more than ten years to provide voice and data communications for railway and acts as a radio bearer for train control messages. Mandated by the European Commission and supported by the dynamic railway industry in the region, the GSM-R system has established a significant market in Europe. Over the past few years the market extended to regions outside Europe including Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. Led by Nokia, Kapsch CarrierCom, and Huawei, GSM-R track coverage
December 19, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
GSM-R has been used in Europe for more than ten years to provide voice and data communications for railway and acts as a radio bearer for train control messages. Mandated by the 1690 European Commission and supported by the dynamic railway industry in the region, the GSM-R system has established a significant market in Europe. Over the past few years the market extended to regions outside Europe including Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa.

Led by 183 Nokia, 81 Kapsch CarrierCom, and 6787 Huawei, GSM-R track coverage is growing to 190,000 km by 2020, according to 5725 ABI Research.

Despite being the latest technology that caters to railways needs, GSM-R itself is based on 2G GSM which is now a declining technology. However, in the absence of strong alternatives, GSM-R continues to be the technology of choice for many new railway projects. System evolution and the development of the next-generation networks go hand in hand creating a transition period over the 2020’s. “GSM-R structure is migrating to an IP-based transmission network to improve performance, and lower OPEX, and is a step towards the next generation network,” comments Ahmed Ali, research analyst at ABI Research.

LTE is emerging as a strong candidate to succeed GSM-R considering the growing adoption in the commercial sector and the support from the majority of equipment manufacturers. Embracing LTE-based networks introduces new areas of growth and new market players to the industry.

“One interesting scenario is the collaboration between public network operators and railway operators to create a converged network and reduce cost. With LTE, providers like 4054 Alcatel-Lucent and 5650 Ericsson can further improve the railway solution market and drive competition,” continues Ali.

I’ll send the news to Natalie next week. Have a great Christmas and best wishes for 2015.

Related Content

  • September 27, 2013
    Global connected car market expected to reach US$131.9 billion by 2019
    New research by Transparency Market Research "Connected Car Market -Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013- 2019" , indicates that the global connected car market is expected to reach US$131.9 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 34.7 per cent from 2013 to 2019. 4G/long-term evolution (LTE) technology is in a commanding position due to its lower operating costs associated with high data transmission volumes as compared to other technologies.
  • October 22, 2013
    Turkish railway opts for Huawei GSM-R
    Chinese information and communications technology solutions provider Huawei is to supply its Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R) solution to the Turkish State Railways (Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Devlet Demiryollari (TCDD)), to support the implementation of a modern digital railway communication network for the Kayas-Kayseri railway. Located on the Anatolia plateau, the 367-kilometre long Kayas-Kayseri railway line has 34 stations and 22 tunnels connecting the cities of Ankara and Kayseri
  • July 30, 2014
    Connected car market ‘to grow almost 500 per cent by 2018’
    The market for connected cars is growing rapidly, with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.2 per cent between 2013 and 2018 and mobile network operators (MNOs) are jumping on the opportunity for new revenue streams and enhancement of customer loyalty that comes with this growth, according to the latest report from research firm Heavy Reading Insider, a research service from Heavy Reading. MNOs Hold the Keys to Success for Connected Cars examines the connected car market, analysing how mo
  • March 30, 2016
    Kapsch CarrierCom to implement railway communication network in Luxembourg
    Luxembourg’s national railway operator CFL has awarded Kapsch CarrierCom the contract to implement a countrywide railway communication network based on GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway) for the country’s railway network. The contract, which is scheduled to be complete at the beginning of 2017, includes operation and service support for the first three years. Kapsch will be installing an end-to-end railway telecommunication network based on the GSM-R standard, including a modern IP