New revision of IEEE 802.16 industrial wireless standard advances toward ratification
Ondas Holdings Inc., a provider of private industrial wireless networks and commercial drone and automated data solutions and its wholly-owned subsidiary Ondas Networks, have announced that the new revision of the IEEE 802.16 industrial wireless open standard, 802.16t, has advanced toward formal ratification. The 802.16t standard includes critical technological contributions from Ondas Networks and is based on substantial input from a diverse group of stakeholders including the Class 1 Railroads and various railroad suppliers. Furthermore, equipment utilising the current IEEE 802.16-2017 revision of the standard will be software upgradable to the new revision.
Ondas Networks has been working closely with its strategic partner, Siemens Mobility, an IEEE and industry partners including the Class 1 Railroads and their representatives at the AAR and MxV Rail, to advance the 802.16 standard to address railroad specific needs including support of new communications protocols to improve railroad efficiency and safety. The work within IEEE has aligned with the FCC grant to the AAR of new greenfield frequencies in the 900 MHz band in May 2020. The FCC, in its Report and Order from May 2020, states that the new contiguous and increased bandwidth would help meet AAR’s future need to enable significant railroad safety upgrades such as services for advanced defect detection, increased support for rail integrity monitoring, and continuous monitoring of highway grade crossing equipment. Another states benefit included implementation of redundant paths for PTC backhaul, especially in remote areas and difficult terrain.
“We are proud to be helping lead the effort along with Siemens Mobility and the railroads in the advancement of the 802.16 standard to incorporate support for railroad efficiency and safety protocols,” states Eric Brock, CEO of Ondas Networks. The grant of the 900 MHz frequency from the FCC along with the work done by IEEE helps support the future needs of the rail industry such as those detailed in the March 2020 Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) report, “Railroad Wireless Communications Roadmap.” Mike Nolan, vice president of freight and product solutions, went on to state, “The new frequency allocation from the FCC along with the standardisation process around IEEE 802.16, lays the groundwork for a new, nationwide, rail-owned, general purpose IP data network that extends a Railroads’ corporate network along the right-of-way for reliable, real-time access to mission critical devices, sensors (and trains).”
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