Balfour Beatty Rail Lowers Costs of Construction With 3G Wireless
Cisco High-Performance 3G WAN Interface on Integrated Services
Routers Helps Balfour Beatty Rail Quickly Establish a High-Speed
Network Connection at Construction Sites
MUNICH, GERMANY--(Marketwire - January 30, 2008) - Cisco® (NASDAQ:
CSCO) today announced that Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH Germany is using
third-generation wireless technology incorporated into the Cisco
Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) to help improve the productivity
and efficiency of its engineers by reducing the time it takes to
establish a communications infrastructure at remote construction
sites. Balfour Beatty Rail is using integrated third-generation (3G)
wireless technology from Cisco to rapidly deploy networked
information technology (IT) systems, which helps engineers access
online information and services that are critical for the effective
completion of rail projects.
Balfour Beatty Rail designs, constructs and revamps railway
infrastructures throughout Germany, Austria, China, Romania and other
selected countries and relies on IT systems to complete projects
efficiently and effectively. Today's electric trains require a system
that supplies electric power to railway power units along the
complete length of track, presenting a unique challenge for
establishing communication operations. Cisco third-generation
wireless WAN high-speed interface card (HWIC) on the Cisco ISR
provides Internet connectivity using terrestrial cellular technology,
so a wireless wide-area network can be established to the site router
in a matter of hours as long as the site is within range of a
cellular tower.
"Balfour Beatty Rail is in a tight margin business and we are
continually looking at ways of reducing the costs of our operations,"
said Ali Inci, Balfour Rail's manager of information and
communications technology. "Much of our construction projects take
place in remote areas where obtaining a wired Internet connection is
a lengthy and expensive process. By integrating the 3G technology
into the ISR, Cisco allows us to ship the network access equipment in
the same container as the construction equipment and have
communications up and running on-site in a matter of hours where
previously it would have taken months."
The Cisco solution also helps Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH increase its
operational efficiency by supporting fast, easy communication between
headquarters and the remote sites. Project managers use the 3G
network to send and receive critical communications and documents
that help them maintain timetables. With more than 80 projects
ongoing, keeping workers on schedule and construction moving along
the rails is critical.
"For businesses with remote work sites, establishing a communications
infrastructure quickly and efficiently is essential for maintaining
business continuity and completing projects successfully," said
Richard Roberts, director of business development, Cisco. "The 3G
HWIC card helps give businesses the flexibility to set up
communications in a fraction of the time required to install a wired
connection, allowing them to access critical IT systems and maintain
business operations should their wired connection be compromised."
The Cisco 3G HWIC, coupled with a Cisco Integrated Services Router
and a service provider wireless data plan, provides a cost-effective,
reliable solution with industry-leading security for remote sites and
branch offices. Cisco 3G HWICs are supported on the Cisco 1841 and
1861 Integrated Services Routers, Cisco 2800 Series Integrated
Services Routers, and Cisco 3800 Series Integrated Services Routers.
Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH is now using 3G for all its sites in
Germany, either as a primary or a backup connection. A Cisco
SMARTnet® agreement helps Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH maintain business
continuity by providing equipment replacement the next business day
if required.
About Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH headquartered in Munich, Germany employs a
total of 1100 staff worldwide. Further details can be found at
http://www.bbrail.de.
About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that
transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate.
Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For
ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment
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document is Cisco Public Information.
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