Coinciding with the U.S. House of Representatives’ Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials meeting on Tuesday to address the issue of rail safety, the head of a leading wireless communications technology provider insists “there is still work to be done” in making American railroads safer.

“Currently, much of the rail industry still utilizes legacy wireless communications technology. This limits opportunities to provide real-time tracking, data analytics, and predictive maintenance. Transitioning to new standardized communications technologies will allow railroads to access higher-bandwidth software applications that will improve the safety of rail operations,” Eric Brock, Chairman and CEO of Ondas Networks, Inc., said in a July 23 letter to Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX) and Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), the Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the Subcommittee.

The Subcommittee, which is a part of the larger Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, convened in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday for a hearing titled “Examining the State of Rail Safety in the Aftermath of the Derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.”

A recent report from the National Transportation Safety Board explained that mechanical failures and communications technology issues both caused and exacerbated the severity of the derailment.

Federal Newswire reported in May that the American Association of Railroads (AAR) told the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that its members would comply with a Sept. 2025 deadline to transition to new communications technology, enabling freight trains to finally access modern, high-bandwidth software applications that will improve safety.

In comments submitted to the FCC on May 2, the AAR wrote that its members planned to “complete the transition...by the Sept. 14, 2025 deadline” and that they would invest $110 million in equipment to accommodate the new standards, which it would move the industry off “1980’s technology.”

As Brock pointed out in his letter, freight rail operators in North America currently communicate using low-speed 900 MHz two-way radios, akin to dial-up internet. Their communications also don’t conform to common “802.16” wireless broadband standards developed to secure private wireless networks in other industries.

“The railroads agreed to the 900 MHz transition plan and have already made a significant investment in rail safety innovation with the new wider narrowband channels…and new waveforms (like 802.16). AAR has already spent more than $2 million over the past two years on testing and working to adapt the new 802.16 standards to the unique operational requirements of the rail industry,” wrote AAR attorney Michele C. Farquhar in a brief to the FCC.

Farquhar said the AAR expected the transition, which started in 2020 and will require the replacement of approximately 9,500 radios, to “improve existing rail network capacity constraints across its narrowband spectrum assets and accommodate new safety applications.”

In May 2020, the FCC voted unanimously to transition the AAR’s existing 900 MHz band, used by the freight railroads for their legacy Advanced Train Control System (ATCS), so it could enable broadband.

Ondas Networks and Siemens Mobility have since partnered to develop and sell freight operators new wireless network technology and radios that meet the modern standards.

In Jan. 2023, the companies announced their first railroad order for radios in anticipation of the 2025 transition.

Brock’s letter explained that its collaboration with the rail industry has led to the development of a wireless radio platform called “FullMAX”, which ensures safe and dependable train operations throughout the U.S., by using software-defined network technology to effectively connect the extensive base of existing technology systems deployed across the rail network – and does so using the 802.16 industrial private wireless networking standard.

“Utilizing standards-based technologies like dot16 [802.16] will enhance the resilience and efficiency of the nation's critical rail infrastructure and operations, allowing for the deployment of cutting-edge capabilities and promoting flexibility, scalability and competition in railroad operations,” Brock stated in his letter.

After the FCC’s vote to transition the AAR’s existing 900 MHz band, it allotted new, Greenfield-licensed 900 MHz spectrum to the AAR – which Brock said will serve to “replace the outdated technology currently in use” and offer “up to 37.5x the data capacity of the legacy 900 MHz network.”

“This data capacity increase is crucial, as it promises enhanced railroad safety functionalities that the current network cannot support. With the new 900 MHz radio frequencies being allocated to the AAR in 2020, the railroads are required to utilize this new spectrum for a deployed network by April 2026,” Brock said.

“The capabilities of the updated network support new and higher bandwidth applications including: Defect detectors, hazard detectors, vital control point communications, continuous monitoring of highway grade crossing equipment and support the implementation of redundant paths for Positive Train Control (PTC) base station backhaul. These improvements will substantially improve the safety and reliability of railroad operations, marking a significant leap in communications technology for the industry.”

Brock added that Ondas is “excited to support the AAR and its members in the nationwide rollout of the advanced 900 MHz network.”

“Freight rail operators have shown a strong commitment to migrating the legacy 900 MHz network, as evidenced by their planned $110 million investment to ensure the transition meets the FCC's September 2025 deadline, detailed in the AAR’s April 2024 Comments submitted to the FCC. Additionally, the AAR has already allocated $2 million towards testing and validating this cutting-edge 802.16 technology,” said Brock.

“Ondas Networks, along with its partner Siemens Mobility Inc., is fully engaged with the rail industry to support this transition and has established partnerships with rail operators. The technology exists and has been validated by the rail industry. However, meeting the FCC’s September 2025 deadline will not be easy given the current pace of the transition. We look forward to working with our partners in the rail industry to implement this critical technology.”

North America has 136,667 miles of railroad track moving 1.6 billion tons of freight annually.

It is home to six “Class I” freight railroad companies – Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway, the Montreal-based Canadian National Railway, Calgary-based Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Jacksonville-Based CSX Transportation, Atlanta-based Norfolk Southern Railway and the Omaha-based Union Pacific Railroad. All are members of AAR.