In the next five years, Vodafone Business will provide Dual Inventive with a complete Internet of Things (IoT) network. Dual Inventive will use the IoT network of Vodafone Business for making railways in the Netherlands and abroad safer, more efficient and more reliable. For example by monitoring the temperature of the tracks and other parameters for predictive maintenance, workplace safety during work and tracking trains and wagons. This will lead to less delay and fewer problems on railway lines.
Disruptions and delays in the railway network can have a huge economic impact and cause enormous frustration for travellers. It is expected that passenger and freight railway transport will double in the next 30 years. Smart railway maintenance is therefore essential to ensure the network runs as smoothly as possible.
Dual Inventive a company that develops technological systems for safe and optimal railway usage. They use IoT technology to improve monitoring of the tracks and conduct preventive maintenance. To this end, the company will use the two special IoT networks of Vodafone Business: Narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) and Long Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M). Dual Inventive operates on an international scale, and therefore the IoT networks and partner-networks of Vodafone Business in Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, America and Australia will be used for monitoring and maintenance of the railway network.
One SIM for all IoT networks
LTE-M and NB-IoT are so-called low power wide area technologies. These networks boast supreme coverage and can connect IoT sensors without using much energy. In case the IoT network is not powerful enough at a certain place of railway track, it will, without any intervention, switch over to other available networks like 2G and 4G, thanks to a special multi-bearer SIM.
"Dual Inventive has found a partner in Vodafone Business that will help us achieve our future ambitions. We believe that railway will be the means of transportation of the future and are convinced that it can be used more efficiently and effectively by using wireless technology. Since 2008 we have been providing IoT technology that makes railway work up to 40% more efficient, resulting in valuable railway capacity for the Netherlands and abroad. Due to this cooperation we can continue and enhance the increase in railway efficiency," says Lex van der Poel, CEO of Dual Inventive.
"IoT is more than devices talking to each other and exchanging data. IoT offers smart solutions that make our daily life easier, safer and more valuable. And this is exactly what we will be doing with Dual Inventive. Worldwide we have realized 99 million IoT connections and in the Netherlands we offer national-wide coverage with our IoT network. This makes us the right partner for realizing the ambitions of Dual Inventive.”, says Joost Wijermars, director B2B products at VodafoneZiggo.