Beijing JustTop NetCom and the Beijing Government Shared TETRA Network have been celebrating reaching 10 years of operation. 

The first government-shared TETRA network in China, developed and installed by Cassidian 10 years ago, has been operated since then by Beijing JustTop NetCom. During the anniversary celebration, the TETRA + Critical Communications Association (TCCA) granted the network and Beijing JustTop NetCom the ‘World Class TETRA Network and Operation Award of Excellence’. 

Phil Kidner, chief executive officer of the TCCA, presented the award, and said: “The success of the Beijing JustTop network in supporting the Olympics, the 60th Anniversary celebrations and countless other events during the past 10 years, demonstrates what a first class operator using first class technology can deliver ‘when failure is not an option’.”

As a result of four expansions, the network has became Asia’s largest and the biggest city-wide TETRA network in the world. Today, it includes six DXTip switches and more than 350 base stations provided by Cassidian. 

In the Beijing region, it covers all venues and important buildings, all the metro lines, the main highways and a large number of counties. At the end of 2012, it served more than 90 000 subscribers. 

“We feel proud of our 10-year collaboration with Beijing JustTop NetCom”, said Zoltan Wirth, vice president and head of global operations at Cassidian Secure Communication Solutions, during the ceremony. “Together, we have created one of the world’s best shared TETRA networks, achieving the highest level of performance in China. In particular, the TCCA ‘Award of Excellence’ highlights the outcome of this excellent collaboration. Drawing on this success, Cassidian will continue to work closely with our customer and partner JustTop on the further evolution and development of the network.” 

• Beijing JustTop NetCom has decided to expand the metro coverage of the Beijing Government Shared Radio Network. The expansion will improve the network coverage and provide the communication for Beijing metro police to ensure security. Cassidian will provide 24 TB3 base stations to expand the coverage and the upgrade will be completed in 2014. The Beijing metro delivered over 2.18 billion rides in 2011 and on April 28, 2012 set a single-day ridership record of 8.59 million. Nevertheless the existing metro network still cannot adequately meet the city’s mass transit needs and extensive expansion plans call for 19 lines and over 708 km of track in operation by 2015 and 1050 km of track by 2020.