Reading Borough Council
WiMAX Traffic Control and Surveillance Network
Aerelink, the UK's leading wireless integrator, has recently completed the deployment of the first WiMAX network using the 3.3 GHz spectrum in the UK. The work was performed for the Brighton based ISP, Metranet and Reading Borough Council.
The project is part of a SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) match-funded innovation project.
The Client
Reading is a large metropolitan town 40 miles due east of London. It is a thriving, modern city with a population of approximately 144,000, one of the largest towns in England. Reading Borough Council's Transport department is exceptionally forward thinking, embracing new technologies in Urban Traffic Management and Control (UTMC), to streamline the flow of traffic throughout the town, and provide a 'greener' environment.
The Requirement
Aerelink were engaged by Reading Borough Council (RBC) to consult on the design and build of a wireless network to manage the traffic on busy commuter routes in and out of the town and provide real time traffic information to the council and general public.
RBC identified an area critical to the traffic flow into the town. Key junctions were indentified for traffic control and CCTV implementation. The network had to be 'all pervasive' and provide high quality backhaul for a number of different devices including CCTV Cameras, existing traffic signal controllers and Wireless Access Points for public 'Hot Spots'.
The wireless network had to be high availability, given that a network failure could seriously compromise traffic flow.
"Reading is a prosperous town with an expanding population, and consequently there are significant pressures on the road network. The communications needed to connect and control real time traffic management systems that would be more powerful than before."
Simon Beasley – Transport Network Manager
The Solution
A network using Alvarion's BreezeMAX base stations and CPEs, covering an area of approximately 10 square kilometers, enables Reading Borough Council to provide wireless backhaul for CCTV cameras (closed circuit TV), and traffic junction control throughout Reading.
The WiMAX network also provides wireless backhaul for 802.11 wireless hotspots around the centre of the borough, and provides information about the traffic situation to Reading's traffic website, as well as a number of public information screens.
Several base stations were deployed on the roof of Fountain House, part of the Broad Street Mall shopping development to provide 'blanket coverage' of the town and surrounding suburban areas. The 3.3 GHz WiMAX technology provided excellent penetration in this challenging environment.
Further expansion of the network is currently in the design and testing phase, with site surveys planned for all inbound commuter routes.
The Benefits
The WiMAX network went live in March 2008 and replaced and augmented the existing wired network, saving thousands of pounds in leased line circuit rental. Live video from main roads and junctions is streamed back to a central control room, and traffic lights phasing can then be dynamically controlled via the WiMAX network to improve traffic flow. Automatic License Plate recognition is also being built into the system for measurement of journey times.
Information about the traffic situation is provided to a variety of outlets:
- Shopping centres
- Reading's Hexagon theatre with 40" display screens
- Intranet systems
- Reading's official travel website www.reading-travelinfo.co.uk
- Mobile phones for real time travel information
Many towns and cities throughout the world are finding new bandwidth-intensive applications - such as CCTV - expensive to operate, particularly when they involve using wired infrastructure such as leased lines. By using the wireless technology, network costs were significantly reduced.
