Lothian’s 4G backhaul improves public transportation customer experience and safety

Working with Pelion, Lothian acquired fast 4G backhaul to the internet that would allow connectivity for CCTV streaming, CCTV health check, passenger information systems and destination screen updates to backend servers.

• CCTV Streaming: achieve quicker response times and faster decision making on developing incidents involving the Lothian fleet.
• Passenger information systems: real-time updates to bus and social media feeds, to provide customers with up-to-date information on their service
• Destination screen updates: achieve remote updating of route information, reducing need for manual site visits.
• CCTV Health Check: achieve remote checking of DVR (Digital Video Recorder configuration, saving time and reducing the necessity for manual checks to be conducted.

“Lothian are pleased to have found a truly genuine, hard-working and honest partner. Pelion have a comprehensive understanding of the telecoms industry which has led to frictionless implementation in the dynamic and challenging environment of public transport.”

Philip Lock, Project Manager – Lothian

The Solution

To deliver these services, Lothian required a technically competent connectivity supplier with the ability to provide secure and reliable 4G communications at competitive rates. A solution was delivered consisting of three key elements: cost-effective cellular connectivity, reliable and resilient network infrastructure and connectivity management capabilities.

The Benefits

• Lower connectivity costs and reduced data over-usage.
• Ease of device management and reduction in manual site visits.
• Improved customer experience and safety.

Lower Connectivity Costs

Through careful planning and data usage analysis, a tariff tailored to match Lothian’s connectivity requirements, specifically for 4g backhaul, was recommended. This has resulted in Lothian benefitting from cost-effective pricing, more predictable billing, a reduction in data overuse and bills being within budget on a consistent basis.

Through aggregated buying power, Pelion can provide customers with a competitive pricing model and diverse network options. In addition, the provision of a single invoice for a custom data bundle has also made a saving in operational costs with Lothian no longer having to reconcile an invoice per SIM card each month.

Reduction in Site Visits

Lothian have benefitted from the ability to manage SIM card connectivity using Pelion. The platform provides real-time connection management and reporting on device connectivity. This has enabled Lothian to determine if devices are connected to the network, how much data has been used, set monitoring alerts and manage invoices.

Wireless connectivity enables destination screens to be updated with route information remotely. This greatly reduced costs by minimizing the number of person-hours of work per year needed to manually conduct site visits and reconfigure screens. Time spent conducting manual checks on CCTV has also been greatly reduced.

Improved Customer Experience and Safety

Reliable 4G backhaul connectivity enables both bus and social media feeds to be updated in real time, helping Lothian’s customers to stay up to date regarding the status of their service.

CCTV streaming enables quicker response times and faster decision making on developing incidents involving the Lothian fleet. Not only does this help to protect the safety of Lothian’s passengers and staff, it can also be used to provide assistance in dispute mediation, complaint resolution and accident investigation.

Path to Value

One of the first measure taken by Pelion was to conduct an analysis of Lothian’s historical data usage. This allowed Pelion to arrive at a considered evaluation of Lothian’s data requirements and recommend a tariff that met their needs in terms of cost and limited their exposure to data over-usage.

The 4G/LTE connectivity service has been the perfect fit for Lothian, who require extremely fast wireless connectivity, to support applications such as CCTV surveillance and streaming services. Offering the fastest transmission speeds in cellular connectivity, reduced latency and extremely stable data transfer. Pelion’s connectivity network infrastructure is designed to meet the service continuity needs of Lothian, with exceptional levels of network reliability and resiliency.

Once the proposed solution had been tested exhaustively and Pelion were satisfied that it functioned as expected, it was deployed live. During the initial rollout phase, Pelion prioritized incoming support requests from Lothian. This helped to ensure that the deployment went smoothly and that any issues were resolved as quickly as possible. The collaborative approach ensured that Lothian’s fleet was equipped with 4G connectivity within six weeks.