Sierra Wireless has announced availability of the AirLink MP70, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) vehicle router for mission critical applications and services in transportation and transit. Today’s mobile workforce needs to connect more technology in and around their vehicles to enhance safety, responsiveness and deliver a better customer experience for passengers. The MP70 serves as a purpose-built, high-performance vehicle networking solution that enables multiple high-bandwidth applications to work simultaneously, more than 10 times faster and four times further from the vehicle than ever before. It also provides IT departments with the flexibility to manage fleet and mobile assets in the cloud or in the enterprise data center using Sierra Wireless AirLink Network Management solutions.
“Public transportation staff need access to uncompromised connectivity at all times, and that’s central to all of our LTE networking solutions,” said Jason Krause, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Solutions for Sierra Wireless. “Using the MP70, mobile workers can communicate seamlessly from in and around their vehicle, as if they could back at base. This allows them to perform critical duties onsite more efficiently, and ultimately respond more quickly and effectively in the field.”
For example, a fleet of buses on urban, suburban or intercity routes could be fitted out with onboard information systems, fare payment systems, video cameras, vehicle location and mechanical sensors, as well as providing high speed Wifi access for passengers. With the MP70, all of these systems can connect to a high-speed vehicle area network, with both gigabit Ethernet and 802.11ac Wi-Fi supported, and share a secure LTE-A cellular connection that enables public transportation staff to access all of the systems in real time on the vehicle.
“We trialed the MP70 router to connect our in-vehicle computers and provide a Wi-Fi hotspot for our team to access critical database records onsite in real time during emergencies,” said Greg Katz, Lieutenant, Billerica MA Police Department. “Right out of the box, we were impressed by the MP70’s top-notch, ruggedized form factor—with hardened aluminum casing, it’s clearly designed for turbulent vehicle environments. We are also very impressed with its reliable LTE connectivity and, because it offers 4-port Gigabit Ethernet, we will be able to support more in-vehicle equipment, such as video cameras and ALPR, bringing the full functionality of our office network to our patrol officers.”
“The MP70 high performance vehicle router extends Sierra Wireless’ industry leading portfolio of vehicle gateways, which includes the AirLink GX450 mobile gateway and multi-network FirstNet Band 14 oMG vehicle router,” said Robin Duke-Woolley, CEO of specialist IoT analyst firm Beecham Research. “There is strong demand for vehicle area networks that can handle multiple applications, and the MP70’s flexible, secure management and Wi-Fi capabilities make it an attractive option.”
An entire fleet of AirLink MP70 routers, field applications and mobile assets can be remotely managed, controlled and monitored over a centralized platform using AirLink Network Management solutions from Sierra Wireless. Available as a hosted, cloud-based AirLink Management Service, or as a licensed software platform in the enterprise data center, oMM Management System, AirLink Network Management solutions allow organizations to increase efficiency and lower maintenance costs by up to 90 percent.
The MP70 is the industry’s first router Gigabit Ethernet, Gigabit Wi-Fi and 300 mbps LTE-A to connect multiple applications in and around the vehicle. It has an integrated events engine, built-in vehicle I/O and support for AirLink Vehicle Telemetry to enable advanced awareness and instant insight into vehicle diagnostics, connected mobile assets, fleet operations and the workforce. The MP70 also provides GNSS and inertial navigation (activated in an upcoming software release), enabling superior vehicle location accuracy, even when out of satellite coverage. Purpose-built for vehicles, the AirLink MP70 ensures superior reliability and continuous operation in harsh environments and is designed to survive extreme transient surges and perform in noisy vehicle power environments.
Special Launch Promotion
The list price for the MP70 is $1049 USD, which includes AirLink Management Service (ALMS) for three years with orders placed in 2016. The AirLink MP70 is commercially available through Sierra Wireless’s authorized channel partners.
