[Shenzhen, China, July 30, 2015] As announced today, German Railways are replacing their 1st generation GSM-R technology and have commissioned a consortium made of Siemens Convergence Creators and Huawei with the migration of the system in Northern Germany. With this consortium, the technology of one of the most innovative and leading suppliers of telecommunication technology, especially in the field of mobile radio, is joined with the renowned project and quality management of Siemens.

With this step German Railways become an international trailblazer in designing the future of the internal railway radio networks. This is achieved by complete compliance with EIRENE GSM-R and ETCS2/ERTMS standards, seamless interoperability, innovative GSM-R functions and the option to already today expand the network to mobile broadband services, like the 4G technology LTE (Long Term Evolution).

To make the replacement of German Railways' already existing GSM-R infrastructure with Huawei GSM-R technology as efficient as possible, substantial measurements were performed which confirmed the interoperability of GSM-R network components. As part of the migration process, the installed Huawei GSM-R Radio Infrastructure (BSS) will be integrated into the already existing switching center (MSC) of German Railways. 

"We are looking forward to our cooperation with Siemens Convergence Creators and their international system supplier Huawei. We are convinced of the high quality and innovative technical power of our partners," says Heike Hanagarth, Head of Technology and Environment of German Railways.

"We are very proud to have been contracted to design the future of German Railways' network. The project involves a total length of about 12,000 kilometers of the German railway network, which translates into 40% of the operative network of German Railways. Thanks to our longterm experience with safety-relevant networks, in particular in a railway environment, we also have developed our own applications, in addition to our extensive know-how in migrating these systems. Therefore we can supply our customers with the entire package," says Daniel Felicio, CEO of Siemens Convergence Creators. 

Kevin Hu, CEO of Huawei Germany stated: "Huawei would like to thank Deutsche Bahn for the great confidence which will be expressed by the selection. The excellent and professional cooperation with Siemens CVC was the fundament for the success. This consortium of Siemens and Huawei will be a guarantee for an absolutely smooth process for the supply, rollout and installation.

With a clear migration strategy towards broadband technology, innovations and solutions, this order represents the world's first nationwide GSM-R base station replacement during ongoing railway operations. For the first time this step will offer Deutsche Bahn the opportunity to expand and prepare its network for the realization of broadband requirements, without additional hardware replacement. "

About Siemens Convergence Creators

Siemens Convergence Creators, headquartered in Vienna, provides its customers with innovative products, turnkey solutions and services in the fields of communications networks, service and customer management, public safety and security, multimedia infotainment as well as space technology. Among the most important customers are the top players in their respective industrial sectors, i.e. telecommunications, media (TV, publishing houses), transport (cruise ships, railways, aircraft manufacturers, airlines & airports), space, public safety (action forces) and energy (wind power, oil and gas).