Bruce Simon, former Director of Communications Engineering at Norfolk Southern, said he supports the U.S. freight rail industry migrating its wireless communications from the 900 MHz bandwidth to the 220 MHz spectrum.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved a $110 million initiative to modernize North America's rail communications systems by 2025, reallocating 900 MHz spectrum to support broadband deployment.
If the rail industry fails to meet the FCC's deadline, the industry's "back-up" plan, wrote former FCC Commissioner Michael O'Reilly in a Feb. 18 op-ed, would be to shift from 900 MHz to the 220 MHz block.
"If I were still at Norfolk Southern, that would be the direction we would be going,” he said. “We would not have any 900 probably by the end of 2025."
Simon had a 33-year career at Norfolk Southern, where he held various leadership roles in communications and engineering, including Director of Communications Engineering, Manager of ATC Operations and Test and Manager of Train Control Signal, focusing on improving train control systems, dispatching operations, overseeing wayside PTC implementation and communication systems.
Simon, who officially retired in May 2024, is now working as a freelance consultant in the railroad industry.
“There's just no reason to have two separate infrastrusctures when there's one that's available that can serve both," Simon told Federal Newswire.
He said maintaining both the 900 MHz and 220 MHz bandwidths would require two sets of equipment.
“You would have to continue to support all of the base radios or a number of them, along with the mobiles that are at the wayside for the 900, which is a separate set of equipment from the 220,” she said. “And a separate set of batteries. When 220 (MHz) can support it, all has the available bandwidth for all of it.”
"If you already have existing 900 (MHz), it's purely about infrastructure and whether you're willing to invest in it,” he said. “It's really a question of whether you want to move forward with the newer technology and the supporting equipment."
The shift to 220 MHz is not without its challenges, especially for smaller railroads.
"For short lines, they may face challenges due to limited resources. But you could contract out the expertise," Simon said. "For a large rail, that's the largest obstacle."
He also said infrastructure investment is needed, noting that the migration requires upgrading equipment and supporting a new set of radios and backhaul systems.
"The biggest obstacle for PTC, when we initially deployed, was standing up towers and the NEPA requirements that went with that—getting permission to actually put up a tower," he said. "But with the 900 infrastructure, in most cases you already have the existing infrastructure, so there’s very little new build required."
Norfolk Southern, Simon said, was fortunate in this regard, as much of the necessary infrastructure was already in place.
"The 900 technology was deployed in 1995, so it's 30-year-old technology with very limited bandwidth,” he said. “Why develop new cell technology for 900 MHz when you can migrate to the existing 220 MHz technology, which is already available off the shelf?"
Simon suggested that the shift to 220 MHz would not only streamline operations but also reduce manpower requirements, as only one set of equipment would need to be maintained.
"This can definitely be leveraged down the road," he said.
