Kapsch CarrierCom achieves functional addressing for railway communications

Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vienna lab has successfully carried out the first functional addressing call utilising SIP signalling based on the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). The functional addressing service, also called ‘follow Me’, is one of the key operational features in railway communication networks and is the process of placing a call using a number that refers to the function which a user is performing at a certain time, as opposed to simply identifying the terminal equipment used. The achievement com
June 10, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
81 Kapsch CarrierCom’s Vienna lab has successfully carried out the first functional addressing call utilising SIP signalling based on the IP multimedia subsystem (IMS).

The functional addressing service, also called ‘follow Me’, is one of the key operational features in railway communication networks and is the process of placing a call using a number that refers to the function which a user is performing at a certain time, as opposed to simply identifying the terminal equipment used.

The achievement combines soft phone-based user equipment, IMS capabilities and the service logic hosted within the Service Control Point release 5 (SCP5) application server. Kapsch’s new SCP5 uses standard commercial off-the-shelf hardware and is a convergent Service Delivery Platform (SDP). It enables service centralisation, functional transparency against the underlying network architecture and a smooth transition between current networks and the future full-IP system and is fully enabled for virtualisation, allowing flexible and cost-efficient deployment in railway data centres.

Overall, the system used for the demonstration of functional calls is aligned with the concepts discussed in the ETSI TC RT working group NG2R and the vision outlined in the user requirements and system architecture defined by the UIC project, Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS).

It acts as a building block for the additional activities planned within the European SHIFT2RAIL project. The proposed transition of the Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway (GSM-R) core systems to IP-based systems offers a number of benefits. It is primarily targeted to be radio technology-independent and offers multi-bearer support. In addition, it will increase reliability and availability, improve safety and reduce costs.

Within the next few years, European railway operators are expected to start to migrate to IP-infrastructure by adopting new technologies and prepare for the migration towards the future railway communication system.

In December 2015, Kapsch became associated member of SHIFT2RAIL and undertook responsibility for carrying out the analysis, specification and implementation of a prototype for a future communication system emergency call under the Innovation Programme 2.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Connected vehicle trials get big backing from USDOT
    March 14, 2016
    Connected vehicle technology will emerge as a sustainable reality at three sites in the US over the next four years. Jon Masters reports. Advocates of connected vehicle (CV) technology have received a welcome boost from news that the US government has committed a further $4 billion towards automated vehicle research and CV technology. This comes hot on the heels of the US Department of Transportation’s $42 million CV pilot pledge in October last year.
    Read More
  • Kapsch releases TDM protocols
    April 26, 2013
    Kapsch has released the specifications of the time division multiplexing (TDM) protocols used in E-ZPass electronic toll collection signalling. Both patented and unpatented proprietary codes associated with what has been called the IAG system are now an open standard, free for all to download and use, says Chris Murray, president and CEO of Kapsch Trafficom North America. The IAG-TDM protocol is now available to all interested parties including competing toll system suppliers free of any royalty and in perp
    Read More
  • Nortech and Idris vehicle classification technology trialled for tolling in China
    May 18, 2012
    South Africa-headquartered Nortech International, in conjunction with Beijing Navigator Technologies, has announced the conclusion of a successful trial of high accuracy vehicle classification for tolling on the Hebei Shi-huang Expressway in Hebei Province of China.
    Read More
  • Cubic unlocks ‘the key’ to Southern Railway
    September 26, 2014
    The UK’s Southern Railway has extended the use of its ‘the key’ smartcard across the entire Oyster network in London. Passengers on the Southern rail franchise can now use the single smart card from most stations to travel by rail, bus and Tube across the capital. Supplied by Cubic Transportation Systems, ‘the key’ was first trialled in November 2011 on Southern’s Brighton to Seaford line. It was subsequently rolled out across most of their network for journeys outside the Oyster network and those termin
    Read More

Highlighted Content