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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Ian Brown, CEO of Axell Wireless, talks about underground mobile phone coverage

Mark Bridge writes:

Just a few weeks ago WiFi was made available on a number of London Underground stations - yet mobile coverage still stops when you go down the escalator.

So why is it taking so long for us to get mobile phone service on the Tube?

For an insight into some of the challenges and the possible solutions I spoke to Ian Brown, CEO of Axell Wireless. The company is a leader when it comes to providing additional wireless coverage in confined spaces - from tunnels to sports stadiums - and is currently involved in the project to install mobile phone service on the Channel Tunnel.

Extending mobile coverage inside a railway tunnel can be done in one of two ways. Either an existing signal from outside the site can be filtered, amplified and ‘rebroadcast’ in the tunnel using a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) or a direct connection with a mobile network base station can be arranged.

Although the London Underground system would be a challenging environment in which to install mobile phone coverage, Ian has no doubt that it’s possible. In fact, Axell Wireless has already helped install public safety wireless coverage across much of the London tube network.

“It is a well-trodden path”, he explained. “It is perfectly feasible. There are lots of design issues around metros, space is very limited, but certainly the technology absolutely exists.”

We went on to discuss some of the specific technical challenges facing engineers, including capacity issues, equipment design and the need to run a ‘radiating cable’ along each rail tunnel requiring coverage.

You can listen to the programme on our website audio player, via iTunes, by using our RSS feed or by downloading the mp3 and OGG audio files directly. Alternatively, install the Android, iOS or webOS Stitcher Radio app and stream the podcast straight to your mobile phone.

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Opinion Articles

And our survey said...

Mark Bridge writes:

The coolest person in the country admires the French president's wife and lives in East London. Oh, and they use a BlackBerry by day but an iPhone by night. That's what recent surveys say. Nonsense, isn’t it?

Author: The Fonecast
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The mobile phone tries to grow up

Mark Bridge writes:

The end of civilisation. The dawn of the future. Mobile phones are somewhere in the middle. Once seen as novelties for people with too much money, the mobile phone is now ubiquitous. And with that ubiquity comes an acceptance that they’re just tools. Doesn't it?

Which is why I was surprised to see a news article from Voice, a trade union that wants mobile phones banned from nurseries because of concern about inappropriate photographs.

Author: The Fonecast
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Sounding good to me

Mark Bridge writes:

"Sounding good to me". So sang Charlie Dore, back in the day when radio stations started to realise that quality was as important as quantity. "AM, FM, I feel so ecstatic", opined Cliff Richard, although I’m betting he’d have preferred the lack of hiss and crackle on FM stations.

Yet no-one’s really thought much about the quality of a phone call. Until now.

Author: The Fonecast
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The landline phone may be fading... but its number still remains

Mark Bridge writes:

In last weekend’s Sunday Times, Ali Hussain asked "Is this the end for the landline phone?"

He pointed out that the average mobile bill almost halved between 2003 and 2008, while landline bills fell by less than a fifth – which has meant the average mobile bill is now lower than the average landline bill. He went on to list fibre-optic broadband, mobile broadband, mobile calls, VoIP calls and satellite phones as alternatives to using fixed-line phones.

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Mixed verdict on mobile phones as cancer cause

Art Chimes of voanews.com writes:

Nearly two-thirds of the people on Earth now use mobile telephones, according to a study by the International Telecommunications Union. But how safe are those phones? Scientists still aren't sure, but some evidence is starting to suggest there may be danger along with the convenience.

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