Oct 02, 2014

The Malaysia Mass Rapid Transit system, also known as the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit, has been under construction since 2011. Although infrastructure group Gamuda noted that the MRT is a key factor in the development of the country, there have been some issues in connection with the construction in the past. Therefore, IT service provider LC CNS selected Firetide to help build a real-time video network.

This project is currently considered one of the largest transportation mobility initiatives Malaysia has ever seen and will include access to communication systems, wireless Internet, video, security, broadcasting, and command and control capabilities.

The first line of the mass transit system, situated in the country’s federal capital of Kuala Lumpur, is under construction at the moment. Teams hope to have the line fully operational by next year, and plans are in place to add other lines in the future.

As construction continues, however, several safety issues have come to light, particularly those connected with traffic accidents. The Straits Times reported that in late August, an accident involving 12 large concrete segments falling from a trailer traveling on the road caused a considerable traffic jam. The congestion lasted about three hours as crews worked to remove the concrete.

In order to improve the safety of the mass transit system, LC CNS officials reached out to Firetide. The resulting video surveillance system will feature 600 Firetide HotPort 7020 wireless mesh nodes utilized in conjunction with AutoMesh flow-based routing protocol. Once launched, the network will have the capacity to deliver throughput of over 100 Mbps and allow for advanced load balancing and congestion control. The wireless mesh nodes also enable comprehensive VLAN capabilities as part of the multi-service infrastructure. Large-scale projects like this confirm the impact mesh networks can have on mobility.