Eurotunnel: Mobile Telephone Service to Be Installed in the Channel Tunnel for the Olympic Games in 2012
March 06 2012 - 6:15AM
Business Wire
Regulatory News:
In line with its ambition to innovate and to improve customer
service, Eurotunnel (Paris:GET) (LSE:GETS), in partnership with the
French mobile operators, will install a 2G (GSM 900,DCS1800) and 3G
(UMTS 2100) GSM-P telephone system which will allow Le Shuttle and
high speed passenger train customers to use their mobile telephones
inside the Channel Tunnel, in time for the Olympic Games.
Offering a wi-fi service 100 metres below sea level, to the
almost 20 million customers who travel through the 53km of the
Channel Tunnel every year is a world first.
The installation, which will cost of €14 million, has been made
possible by the signature of an agreement, today 06 March 2012, at
the French Ministry for the Economy, Finance and Industry by
Eurotunnel and the telecoms operators in France, Bouygues Telecom,
Orange SFR and Free1.
The installation of this additional, mobile telecommunications
service has been made possible as Eurotunnel is already in the
process of installing the latest version of GSM-R2 railway
signaling equipment. The choice of the same equipment supplier for
both GSM-P and GSM-R, Alcatel-Lucent, will ensure the compatibility
of the infrastructure and enable costs to be controlled whilst
accelerating the installation. The French operators will provide an
extension of their 2G/3G coverage through the South running tunnel
(running France-UK) via a transmitter cable and optical repeaters
positioned every 750 metres. The North running tunnel (UK-France)
will be covered by British operators after the Olympic Games.
Eric Besson, the French Government minister responsible for
the Digital Economy stated: “This agreement means that from now
on customers travelling through the Channel Tunnel will be able to
use the full range of 2G and 3G mobile communication services. I am
delighted with this achievement. I would like to thank
Eurotunnel for their initiative, the major French mobile operators
for their enthusiasm and Alcatel-Lucent for their savoir-faire
in delivering the technical solution."
Jacques Gounon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Eurotunnel stated: Eurotunnel, the vital link between the UK
and France, is proud to commit to this investment which will enable
the connection of peoples, nations and cultures in this time of
instant communications. Eurotunnel is sure that enabling mobile
communications from below the waves will be an attraction for many
customers.”
1 Free will join the project in 2017.2 GSM-R (Global System for
Mobile Communications-Railways) is an international standard for
wi-fi communications based on GSM and developed specifically for
railway applications.
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