In La Paz, Bolivia, people prefer cable cars to driving. LANCOM WLAN components help ensure 300,000 daily riders are not left hanging

Wi-Fi solution ensures safety and security

The aerial transport system is known as a monocable gondola lift, built by Austrian cable car specialists Doppelmayr. Each of the almost 1400 cabins can carry up to ten people. More than 300,000 passengers use the network every day, with double that on record days. To ensure they reach their destination safely, reliably and comfortably, the network is equipped with a state-of-the-art communications system. This system was developed and implemented by LOOP21, a partner of Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary LANCOM Systems. LANCOM supplied the Wi-Fi components required for the data traffic.

Together, Doppelmayr, LOOP21 and LANCOM Systems have completed many cable car projects in high-altitude regions of the world. For example, the Wi-Fi systems of both the Penkenbahn cable cars in the Ziller Valley, Austria, and the Hochkönig lifts in the Berchtesgaden Alps in Germany use Wi-Fi solutions from LANCOM Systems. "As part of a public transportation network, the Wi-Fi in an urban cable car must be capable of far more than that of a cable car in the Alps," explains Michael Müller, Vice President, Wi-Fi and Switches at LANCOM Systems. "The Wi-Fi infrastructure is used not only to provide an internet hotspot for passengers but also for a range of safety-related functions." These include intercom systems in the cabins for supplying information and making emergency calls, video surveillance along the route and monitoring of towers and sheave trains. All of this is only possible with continuously available Wi-Fi.

Cable car in La Paz operates with access points from LANCOM

At the heart of the Wi-Fi solution behind the La Paz cable car network are the Wi-Fi access points mounted on the towers and cabins. All data traffic between the control center and the communications system in the cabins runs through these access points. On top of the cable car towers, Wi-Fi access points specially developed for outdoor use have been mounted. In La Paz, these have to be extremely resilient: the Andean plateau is dusty, windy and cold. The LANCOM Systems hardware is practically predestined for the project, as it can withstand even the most adverse weather conditions. With their special protective housing, the outdoor access points from LANCOM Systems function dependably even in temperature extremes from –33 °C to +70 °C.

The access points are fitted with directional antennas that point the Wi-Fi signal specifically to the route section to be covered by the cabin. Access points are also installed on the cabin roofs, where they pick up the signal and transmit it to the Mobility Communications System (MCS) – the communications system developed by LOOP21 – inside the cabin. Announcement and intercom systems, security cameras, lighting controls and emergency call buttons are all connected via the MCS. Based on Wi-Fi components from LANCOM Systems, the MCS also provides a hotspot for passengers to access the internet. The access points are centrally controlled by a Wi-Fi controller in the stations and connected to the internet via optical fiber. Power for the MCS in each cabin comes from solar-rechargeable batteries.

Extreme installation conditions

The complex Mi Teleférico cable car project in La Paz was special in a number of ways. The fact that city life continued to run with all the usual traffic was one of the more minor challenges. "Not even the container logistics from the harbor over the pass at an altitude of 4600 meters and on to La Paz was straightforward," recalls Torsten Bäuerlein, Project Manager at Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH. "The exceptionally tight construction site organization and the cramped conditions in the city put great demands on us, such as blind crane lifts behind rows of houses. To ensure the safety of local people, specially developed drones were used instead of a helicopter during the preliminary cable flight for the first time."

The installation and adjustment of the outdoor access points was also a balancing act. The Mobility Communications System was preinstalled at LOOP21 in Austria, but the outdoor access points on the 186 towers of the network had to be installed on site. A fine touch was also needed with the adjustments. In urban areas, interference from other radio networks is common, and this had to be taken into account when aligning the antennas.

The cable car as part of city life

A special highlight for the project participants was being able to observe how the urban cable car network in La Paz changed people's lives for the better. La Paz and El Alto have moved even closer together thanks to the time-saving aerial connections. And although the cable car as a form of transport had been essentially unknown in Bolivia prior to the project, its popularity quickly skyrocketed. "What's innovative about this project is its intermodality," emphasizes Torsten Bäuerlein, Project Manager at Doppelmayr Seilbahnen GmbH. "The cable car network has become a part of city life, in harmony with the existing infrastructure. Thanks to its complete accessibility, both with boarding the cabins and throughout the station areas, the cable car can be used comfortably as a means of public transport by everyone: young or old, in a wheelchair or with a bicycle, and by families, business people and tourists with luggage." Another positive effect is that the cable car network is helping the city develop even further, with new offerings springing up around the stations. Last but not least, the improved mobility is opening up new opportunities for the people of La Paz, such as better jobs and training.