Telstra reduces traffic light delays
update Telstra has almost finished enabling the migration of more than 8000 traffic lights onto its Next IP communications network.
The communication links for more than 8000 traffic light controller boxes across the nation began their migration to DSL and PSTN technology in April last year, according to director of IP and integrated data solutions at Telstra, John Ieraci. The last stage of the deployment was about to commence in the Northern Territory, he said, which would entail upgrading around 100 traffic systems controllers.
Ieraci said that Telstra funded the core network upgrade portion, while the state and territory traffic authorities funded their own network equipment and resource costs.
There was no indication of how much the entire upgrade would cost "as it was a blend of new customer premises equipment and man hours", he said.
Ieraci later clarified that there were upfront costs for moving the traffic system from the legacy communication network to the new system. However, an offer it had for the road authorities had enabled it to remove "the majority" of the upfront capital cost incurred by them.
Prior to the upgrade, all services used a legacy product called PAPL (Permanent Access Private Line), an analog product operating over copper.
"Running the service over Telstra's Next IP network means access services can be monitored and performance trends observed in real time," Ieraci said. "In the event of a network outage, the customer has the ability to remotely diagnose and pinpoint a fault. This can result in less truck rolls and faster service restoration."
The migration of the traffic systems ensured that alarms would continue to be provided back to control centres if traffic lights malfunctioned.