We are working with other rail operators and we want to expand that solution to Europe or the US. ST: With Rumo, there’s certainly a potential for expansion, but our big focus is expanding this project to other rail operators, not only Brazil but also in areas where there are issues with connectivity, such as Australia or Russia. IGM: What do you hope to achieve in the long-term future? A company like Rumo – as it transitions more to a digital future, using telemetry and onboard communication systems – can be certain that it has a reliable network that will provide the basis for taking advantage of a digital future. If you have an outage on the terrestrial communications because of a natural disaster or an environmental event, you have got this very robust unit. ST: One thing is being able to increase the speed at which you can send those messages and have those communications, which have obviously good efficiency and safety outcomes.īecause our solutions are quite reliable, another nice side effect of this project is that our technology will also be used as a backup for terrestrial communication. Also, the installation process has happened during a global pandemic, which makes things even more difficult. There’s a lot of coordination needed between all the parties and Rumo to get that installation underway and really make it efficient. Our local partner Globalsat Brazil – that has managed the project and has been at its front end – has done a fantastic job that installing that hardware. ST: Installing equipment on 300 locomotives over 2,000km of railway lines is obviously no mean feat. IGM: What challenges have you faced since the beginning of the project? You can have voice connectivity wherever you are and it’s a simple system because it integrates with the existing equipment and you don’t have to set up communications infrastructures. On top of that, train drivers can also use a push-to-talk system which essentially allows them to maintain voice communications from their existing radios, relaying the message via satellite. The signal is then relayed down to a ground station, which can be spread around the world, sending back the message to Wherever the train is, it can use the satellite terminal to send voice messages and data up via the satellite. To connect with the satellite network, we provide our own satellite terminal, a circular piece of hardware which has the size of a laptop and is fully integrated. ST: Inmarsat owns and operates a network of satellites, which are up in geostationary orbits about 35,000 kilometres above the earth surface, providing reliable Internet and voice connectivity wherever you are in the world. ST: We began the project early this year and we’re through the installation process, which is focusing on 300 train and 2,000km of railway line.

Inmarsat satellites