Testing to Take Place in Paris as FRMCS Nears Commercial Integration

A team of more than 115 engineers are set to meet at the UIC headquarters later this month to test interoperability and harmonisation of the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS).

Set to begin rolling out in 2030; integration of the 5G Broadband-based FRMCS aims to support the overall digitalisation of the railways, support existing applications such as ETCS and voice and enable new applications, including those utilising data/video and other essential services requiring telecom quality.

As the technology enters its testing phase, a team of engineers will meet at an ETSI Plugtest event in Paris to prepare for the MORANE 2 testing project, as well as to validate the latest version of the UIC FRMCS standard, which relies on the full power of 3GPP Release 19 MCX core.

The meeting is planned to assist in the creation of the FRMCS first edition standard, which will then be endorsed for deployment in Europe.

Pierre Hagendorf, Softil’s CEO, said:

With FRMCS well on its way to initial rollout in 2030, Softil’s BEEHD technology is poised to become key for developers of on-board telecom FRMCS products and services, with Softil’s MCX railway customers leading the way.

Once operational; FRMCS is expected to support a number of existing applications, such as the European Train Control System (ETCS), voice services enabling new services like operational grades GoA1/2/3/4, data and video services requiring enhanced quality, flexibility and capacity.