Keeping connectivity moving: Building the networks behind every journey

By Marc Rohleder, CTO for U.S., Boldyn Networks

Note: This blog was produced under WIA’s Innovation and Technology Council (ITC). The ITC is the forum for forecasting the future of the wireless industry. Participants explore developments in the wider wireless industry, from 5G network monetization trends and streamlining infrastructure deployment to future spectrum needs and cell site power issues. These views are not a WIA endorsement of a particular company, product, policy or technology.

Transportation systems are among the most demanding environments for wireless infrastructure. Millions of people move through airports and railway networks every day, expecting reliable connectivity wherever they are. At the same time, the transportation infrastructure itself increasingly depends on connectivity to keep people, equipment and operations moving safely and efficiently.

That creates a unique challenge. Wireless networks have to deliver significant capacity in dense environments, cover difficult physical spaces and support a growing number of operational applications, all while the transportation system continues to operate.

Building Wireless Where the Trains Never Stop

New York City provides a good example of what that challenge looks like at scale.

Boldyn Networks has deployed wireless infrastructure across 283 underground stations in the New York subway system, supporting both DAS and Wi-Fi. The work is now extending into the tunnel system, where the planned DAS deployment will ultimately cover more than 400 miles.

Technology is only part of the challenge. You cannot close a subway line for several months just to complete the wireless work. The system operates around the clock, so deployment has to be coordinated with the transit authority, wireless carriers and other infrastructure projects already taking place throughout the system.

That makes wireless deployment as much an exercise in orchestration as engineering. Rail infrastructure needs maintenance, stations need upgrades and other construction projects need access. Wireless work has to fit into that larger schedule.

These projects also demonstrate that transportation connectivity is not a one-time installation. Transit systems evolve over decades, and the wireless infrastructure has to evolve with them.

The Airport Is More Than the Terminal

Airports present a different set of challenges, but the same principle applies: the connected airport extends far beyond the terminal building.

The passenger journey starts when someone approaches the airport, potentially in an airport-owned parking lot or rental car facility. It continues through parking, the arrival and departure curb, the terminal, security and the gate. Increasingly, airports are looking beyond the terminal and considering how connectivity can extend onto the airfield.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is one example. Boldyn is replacing and upgrading an existing DAS to make it compatible with C-band and 5G, while increasing sectorization and looking at areas such as the apron where coverage has traditionally been limited.

Airports are thinking about connectivity more holistically. Travelers need cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity. Retailers need secure connections for point-of-sale systems. Airlines and other airport businesses need connectivity for their operations. Airport employees and security teams need reliable communications across large areas.

Wi-Fi and DAS each have an important role. DAS extends the carriers’ networks throughout the terminal, while Wi-Fi can support passengers, retailers, airlines and airport operations.

On the airfield, however, the requirements change.

The apron is a much larger, open environment, with vehicles, aircraft, buildings and other structures creating coverage challenges. A private 5G network  can provide the coverage, security and reliability needed for operational applications that are difficult to support with Wi-Fi alone.

The Infrastructure Beneath the Network

As transportation systems expand their wireless footprints, one of the biggest challenges is not necessarily the radio equipment. It is the physical infrastructure underneath it.

Fiber and power are often the hardest parts of the deployment, particularly where construction access is limited. The underlying infrastructure, therefore, needs to be designed to support the property for decades  rather than being built around the electronics of today.

The electronics will change. DAS equipment will be upgraded. Wi-Fi will evolve. Private networks will expand. But rebuilding cable runs and power infrastructure every time the technology changes is neither practical nor economical.

From Wireless Coverage to a Connected Airport

Once that infrastructure is in place, the opportunities expand beyond basic connectivity.

One of the applications driving private network deployments at airports is video surveillance. Airports are massive properties with significant security requirements, and extending reliable connectivity to cameras across the airfield can provide operators with greater visibility.

The challenge is scale. An airport may have thousands of cameras, and sending high volumes of video across a wireless network creates significant uplink demands. Edge processing can help by compressing video closer to where it is generated before delivering it into the airport’s existing video management system.

The same network can support other applications. Vehicles operating on the airfield can be equipped with wireless routers, creating mobile workstations that remain connected as they move across the property. Operators can track vehicles, access applications and communicate securely.

Over time, the airfield begins to look less like an isolated operational zone and more like a small, connected city. An airport has airlines, baggage handlers, catering companies, retailers, security teams, maintenance crews and many other organizations operating on the same property. Each has its own requirements, but they can benefit from a common coordinated communications infrastructure.

An airport may initially build a private network to address a specific operational need, such as video surveillance. Once the network exists, additional applications and users can be added without building an entirely new network for each one.

The same evolution has already happened with Wi-Fi inside the terminal. A network may start as a way to connect travelers, but it can also support retail, airport operations and airlines. The same model is now extending beyond the terminal.

Building for What Comes Next

Transportation systems are no longer thinking about wireless as a single service. They are thinking about connectivity as infrastructure that supports the entire property.

For travelers, that means better coverage from the parking area through the terminal and toward the aircraft. For airport operators, it means extending secure communications to cameras, vehicles and other operational systems. For the businesses operating on the property, it creates another way to connect their people and equipment.

Transportation infrastructure is built to last for decades, while wireless technology changes much faster. The answer is not to rebuild the physical network every time a new generation of wireless technology arrives. It is to build the fiber, power and other foundational infrastructure in a way that allows the technology and applications to evolve.