Société de la Rocade L2 (SRL2), manager of Marseille's Rocade L2, has chosen TDF, a neutral infrastructure operator, to deploy a shared solution for indoor mobile coverage.
The aim of this innovative project is to boost ultra-high-speed connectivity on the A507 urban freeway ("Rocade L2"), a busy road axis in the Greater Marseille area. In November 2019, SRL2 and TDF signed an agreement enabling TDF to become the single point of contact for the structure's manager, and to support cell phone operators in rolling out their very high-speed coverage over the ten kilometers of road sections, including nine tunnels and inter-tunnel trenches. Work to install the antennas and the system will start in the last quarter of 2020 and will be completed in spring 2021.
Mobile broadband: service continuity and new digital uses
This connectivity will ensure continuity of cell phone services for users along the entire length of the Rocade L2. Tomorrow, it will enable the emergence of new uses such as autonomous cars.
TDF's innovative "Indoor" model for bringing high-speed broadband to tunnels
TDF designs and deploys a shared "Indoor" telecommunications infrastructure in tunnels, serving all mobile telephony operators. This technology is based on a Distributed Antenna System (DAS), which enables the signals of the various operators to be broadcast at very high speeds along the entire length of the tunnel. The operators' equipment is housed on a single site (the "BTS hotel").
"As a neutral infrastructure operator, we are very proud of this partnership with Rocade L2. This project is fully in line with the Mobile New Deal's objective of providing 4G coverage of priority transport routes, and demonstrates once again the relevance of the innovative model proposed by TDF to address the growing need for 'multi-operator' indoor coverage solutions", says Jean-Louis Mounier, co-CEO of TDF's TowerCo BU.
"In order to provide users with the best possible service, SRL2, in agreement with the French government, has signed an agreement with TDF to provide high-quality mobile coverage along the entire Rocade L2, including in the tunnels. Connectivity is a decisive and major asset that contributes to the quality of service on the L2 and opens the door to future developments in autonomous and intelligent cars", explains Gilles Rakoczy, Managing Director of SRL2.