Johannesburg residents should benefit from reduced road congestion as a legacy of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, with local companies Metacom and Sport and Traffic Technologies partnering to provide intelligent traffic control systems for the city.
The city is undertaking a major initiative to upgrade traffic signals, with real-time information on traffic conditions and the status of important intersections being fed to a central control centre. This will improve traffic management and, in future, enable the planned Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to get priority. Users will also have access to accurate, constantly updated information on arrival and travel times.
A similar communications and signage system is already in operation on the Ben Schoeman highway, giving travellers between Johannesburg and Pretoria accurate information on traffic conditions.
Metacom, a Cape Town-based ICT company specialising in cellular communication technologies, will provide the communications infrastructure and services to support the network of electronic signboards supplied by Sport and Traffic Technologies.
"The system relies on fast, reliable communication between the control centre and remote electronic signboards," says Metacom's chief technology officer Jako Winter. "We're supplying a comprehensive solution, using our own Virtual Private Network (VPN) built on the existing infrastructure of the cellular networks. Our communication devices all have dual SIM cards so they can instantly switch over if any of the networks goes down. It's a tried and tested solution with thousands of devices in the field already."
"Traditional communication solutions mean digging up roads to lay cables and are very expensive," adds Metacom MD R'ean van Niekerk. "Using cellular technology means more cost-effective communication without compromising reliability. It also means that we can remotely monitor all our devices in the field and maintain them in the rare event that there's a problem, without needing to send a technician to the site."
SATT MD Frank Mac Beath says cellular communication is extremely effective both as a first-line solution and as backup to other communication technologies. "There is a huge problem with cable theft and it can take weeks to fix, so we always use cellular communication as a backup to fibre," says Mac Beath. "It's easy to roll out, reliable, very low-maintenance and doesn't suffer from the noise issues we are starting to see with WiFi."
Mac Beath says this reliability has been proven in other joint projects between Metacom and SATT, including signage for the Cape Town International Convention Centre and the Chapman's Peak scenic drive, as well as the Ben Schoeman highway. "It's a really solid, industrial product. I've had some units out in the field for six or seven years and none have failed yet, even though the traffic environment in particular is incredibly corrosive."
Images of existing projects in operation are available at http://www.satt.co.za/gallery.html.
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Metacom, founded in 2001, is a specialist information and technology company focused on the conceptualisation, development, implementation and support of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication solutions and Wide Area Networks. Predominantly active in the wireless communication market, Metacom pioneered a number of innovative solutions in the industrial, retail and banking environment for some of the largest organisations in the country. With a highly professional team of specialists, Metacom continuously researches new technology and develops solutions and expertise, in order to stay abreast of global trends. With its local production facility and service centres, Metacom delivers and maintains the highest quality products and services. As a customer-focused organisation Metacom partners with their customers to bring them solutions that optimise business revenue and customer service through increased efficiency and reduced costs. This allows their customers to focus on their core business and to gain a competitive edge on their competition.
Sport and Traffic Technologies
Sport and Traffic Technologies specialises in turnkey installations - from systems design through manufacture, integration and installation - for electronic sport scoring and intelligent traffic management. Based in Cape Town, SATT has service centres in all major South African cities as well as global strategic alliances that have enabled the company to successfully roll out and maintain systems in several countries across the world.
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