GSM-R boom to continue
Mandated by the European Commission and supported by the railway industry in the region, the GSM-R system has established a significant presence in Europe. Over the past few years the market extended to regions outside Europe including Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. According to ABI Research, Nokia, Kapsch CarrierCom, and Huawei are driving GSM-R track coverage that is forecast to grow nearly 50 percent to 190,000 km by 2020.
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 Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson can further improve the railway market and drive competition,” continues Ali.
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