The Bangalore Metropolitan Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL)’s request for 10 pairs of radio frequencies for the Namma Metro has been approved by the Centre, said Pradeep Singh Kharola, Managing Director, BMRCL.
The BMRCL has to get licenses from the Government of India to use radio frequencies needed for communication between the control room and the trains .
It had requested 10 pairs (incoming and outgoing calls) of frequencies but had only received five so far . Five more pairs had been requested. He said with the granting of all 10 licences, the issue has been resolved.
The Namma Metro staff use the Terrestrial Trunked Radio (TETRA), a communications system where users communicate over phones in a closed system that works on a specific frequency. Since the frequency operates over a limited area, communicating in new areas requires new frequencies. Operating on new frequencies requires the permission of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
At present, the BMRCL has enough frequencies to communicate over Reach 1 and 3. But for Reach 3B and Reach 2, more frequencies were needed.
Reach 1 is Byappanahalli to M. G. Road; Reach 3 is Sampige Road to Yeshwanthpur; Reach 3B is Peenya village to Hesaraghatta Cross; Reach 2 is Leprosy Hospital (Magadi Road) to Mysore Road).