Deployment of the first fully connected 5G Grand Paris Express line of the Parisian metro system is underway with a completion date set for the end of 2025.
The means the 15 Sud line will be one of the first Paris subway lines to have end-to-end 5G connectivity.
TOTEM France has started work to connect the 16 stations of the future line which covers 33 kilometres. Line 15 South is one of four new lines of the Grand Paris Express and will connect the suburbs of Pont de Sèvres and Noisy-Champs.
The full project will be one of Europe’s largest civil engineering projects in Europe with €3.7 billion invested in the network.
Deploying a 5G mobile network in the tunnels of a metro has presented technical challenges as it's an indoor space with a high density of people, movements, and very thick (and therefore wave-impermeable) walls.
TOTEM is deploying this pooled 5G network for all operators, working within the technical constraints of the tunnels to meet the specific mobile coverage needs of all operators.
Thierry Papin, CEO of TOTEM France says: “Indoor connectivity is a priority for transport players. TOTEM's operational deployment of 5G in the tunnels and stations of the future Line 15 South of the Grand Paris Express is a major industrial project.
"I would like to commend the collective work done with the Société des grands projets to make this project a reality for the people of the Ile-de-France region.“
The Société du Grand Paris (SGP) chose the Orange group, via TOTEM, its tower company, to deliver connectivity to the future 15 Sud line. TOTEM, will provide all the investment necessary to deploy the infrastructure, before commercialising the network to mobile telephone operators.
