Powertrunk announces first commercial TETRA network in the United States begins operation at NJ Transit

Following a contract award in 2012, PowerTrunk, Inc., the North American subsidiary of Teltronic  S.A.U., a major global TETRA vendor, started supplying and commissioning a 800 MHz TETRA network for NJ TRANSIT’s replacement Bus Radio System through a U.S.-based systems integrator.  The network went live in early 2013 with partial coverage in the Newark, New Jersey area and is currently being used in a limited capacity by NJ TRANSIT staff as the system continues to be built-out. This is the first commercial TETRA network in the United States to become operationeel.

The PowerTrunk TETRA network provides NJ TRANSIT with the first mission-critical land mobile radio system in the United States that has sufficient data capacity to support the voice and data needs of transit operations over a single LMR network. The network significantly enhances the safety and efficiency of existing NJ TRANSIT operations because it (1) delivers carrier-grade speech quality, (2) carries data services on a system with mission-critical reliability, and (3) offers higher data capacity which enables advanced data-centric applications.

The new system includes radio base stations, core infrastructure, and over 4,000 TETRA subscriber radios to support on-board Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) equipment for buses, NJ TRANSIT contract bus operations, light rail trains, and non-revenue fleet vehicles.  Four PowerTrunk CeCoCo® CAD centers with a total of 27 operator positions and 700 portable radios will be used for management personnel and field staff.  The TETRA service also provides data communications support to NJ TRANSIT for an advanced automatic vehicle location (AVL) application supplied by a third party, and for status messaging between light rail trains and the control center.

Bus and light rail operations are not the only services expected to benefit from the enhancements provided to NJ TRANSIT through the PowerTrunk TETRA system.  The largest statewide transit agency in the U.S. will play a major role in supporting Super Bowl XLVIII to be held in February 2014.  One of the most exciting sport events ever to be hosted in the NY/NJ region, NJ TRANSIT will be responsible for providing safe, reliable, and efficient transportation services throughout the area where Super Bowl events will be held.  To maintain the highest levels of performance and service quality, NJ TRANSIT will deploy a number of network expansions in cooperation with PowerTrunk, such as additional Bluetooth®-equipped subscriber equipment, base stations to provide coverage at certain spots in Manhattan, a PowerTrunk CeCoFleet® CAD platform, and several gateways to provide interoperable communications with other radio networks and legacy systems.

“PowerTrunk is honored to have been selected by NJ TRANSIT to implement the first commercial TETRA land mobile radio network in operation in the United States,” stated Jose Martin, CEO of PowerTrunk. “With deployment on schedule, this showcase network is currently in use, and is projected to be fully built out in early 2014.” 

NJ TRANSIT’s new FCC-licensed LMR network utilizes the standard TETRA protocol developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), and operates in the 800 MHz FCC Part 90 spectrum.  TETRA is a 4-slot TDMA technology using 25 KHz frequencies which allows users to comply with the FCC’s narrowband mandate below 512 MHz (6.25 KHz equivalent per channel). TETRA has been approved by the FCC for use in the U.S. for a wide range of frequenties.

NJ TRANSIT is the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system providing more than 895,000 weekday trips on 261 bus routes, three light rail lines, 12 commuter rail lines, and through Access Link paratransit service.  It is the third largest transit system in the country with 164 rail stations, 61 light rail stations, and more than 19,000 bus stops linking major points in New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia.

Source: Powertrunk