Credit: Dreamstime
Australian communications infrastructure provider BAI Communications has been awarded a 20-year concession by Transport for London (TfL) to establish an underground city-wide integrated communications network delivering multi-carrier cellular, Wi-Fi and fibre services.
BAI was awarded the project following a competitive tender process. It involves building and operating the 4G-enabled and 5G-ready communications network as a neutral host for fixed and mobile operators. This adds to BAI’s existing underground rail networks communications portfolio in New York, Toronto and Hong Kong.
BAI group CEO Igor Leprince said the critical infrastructure project was an important win for BAI’s neutral host growth strategy.
“This project will benefit from our extensive experience and expertise in designing, building and operating these networks in incredibly difficult environments and delivering 5G solutions and use cases that benefit businesses, citizens, and public services,” Leprince said.
Work on the project has already begun with the first phase involving rolling out the multi-carrier infrastructure, which will allow fixed and mobile operators to provide continuous 4G coverage to their customers across the London underground stations and tunnels, with the wireless infrastructure also 5G ready.
All stations and tunnels will have mobile coverage in four years.
As part of its smart city approach, BAI will also establish a high-capacity fibre network to enable service providers to provide full fibre connectivity to premises across the city, where the network will connect to buildings and street assets, housing small cells to leverage 5G and IoT.
BAI will also build and operating critical communications infrastructure that will support police, fire, and ambulance services.
“Our extensive credentials delivering large-scale connected infrastructure and networking solutions position us perfectly to support mobile operators to deliver technological innovation and capitalise on the fast-growing commercial appeal of 5G solutions and smart city applications,” BAI UK CEO Billy D’Arcy said.
“The networks we design and build keep people and communities connected and engaged, as will be the result of TfL’s Connected London program and BAI’s contribution to it.”
