At the frontier of connectivity: solutions that go further

Telecoms networks play a vital role in many economies and societies around the world. The challenge is to ensure the benefits of breakthroughs such as high-speed broadband are accessible to all, especially where populations are spread far and wide. HUBER+SUHNER is involved in one of the biggest rural telecoms initiatives to date. The goal of the BharatNet project is to extend broadband or wi-fi connectivity to more than 900 million people who live beyond India’s urban centres. Getting online opens up new commercial, education, employment and business opportunities for rural residents, as well as e-governance and e-healthcare solutions in regions with limited medical infrastructure. 

The most critical part of the project is the so-called ‘last-mile connectivity’, which connects villages to the national optical fibre network. Alongside mobile infrastructure solutions, HUBER+SUHNER is sharing technical expertise to support the reliable and secure performance of a network that serves the most populated country in the world.

As Alpesh Raval, our Head of Institutional Sales for Communication in India, notes, these antennas and cables do much more than transmit data: they are helping to bring a nation closer together. "We’re proud to contribute to India’s growth and development through the BharatNet project.” 

In Germany, we’re helping the national rail operator Deutsche Bahn find solutions to the challenges of maintaining mobile connectivity over thousands of kilometres across a changing landscape. Today’s rail users expect much more than a seat when they travel. They want to work, watch and browse while in transit. Modern trains also require constant and stable data transmission for operational applications such as passenger information systems, seat reservations and point of sales terminals. All while travelling at high speed through tunnels, valleys and open ground.

When Deutsche Bahn decided to invest in next generation connectivity for its entire intercity fleet, we built a system that provides constant train-to-ground communication and uninterrupted wi-fi through rooftop antennas, in-carriage access points and industrial gateways. Proving that innovation and sustainability can work hand in hand, this solution is being retrofitted to the existing long-distance fleet as well as new rolling stock as part of Deutsche Bahn’s green transformation plan.

“Our success with Deutsche Bahn’s ‘WIFIonICE’ project underscores our commitment to innovation and connectivity,” says Dr. Michael Styger, Senior Vice President Strategy and Business Development Railway. It is another example of the strong brand HUBER+SUHNER is building within rail communications.

A pioneering astronomical research project is pushing the boundaries of connectivity even further – into deep space. The Square Kilo Array Observatory (SKAO) is an intergovernmental organisation created to explore space from here on Earth. Its mission is to study how the earliest galaxies were formed by charting the births and deaths of stars over the first billion years.

Our decades of experience with data transmission for the global space industry helped secure our contract with antenna manufacturer Sirio Antenne, in which we supply key electronic components for SKAO’s low-frequency radio telescope in Western Australia. HUBER+SUHNER components will link together more than 78,000 antennas and connect the telescope to onsite server stations and post-processing data stations at other locations, enabling the constant collection and analysis of signals from space.

Resolution, sensitivity and speed are all crucial elements for radio telescopes. Durability is equally important for SKAO due to the challenging conditions of the antenna farm’s location in the Australian outback, an arid region of extreme temperatures. Our technology has been ruggedised to perform in the most demanding environments. Delivering precise signal transmissions through a complex stream of processing, it will help reveal the faintest details millions of miles away.

“This project has the potential of unlocking frontiers in science and deepening our understanding of the universe,” says Axel Vega, Senior Vice President of Strategy & Business Development, Aerospace & Defense.