Télébec targets emerging wireless market in mines and tunnels

A Quebec lab has scored $1.134 million in federal funding to develop - in partnership with Télébec - a new wireless communications system for mines, subways and other underground or confined areas. These new telecom frontiers are poised to become lucrative niche markets for wireless service providers and manufacturers. "There are a lot of communications systems in mines, but what they are using for a wireless radio system is like a walkie-talkie radio. It's a technology called leaky feeder that's been around for 20 to 25 years and is very limited," says Pierre-André Bélanger, the administrative director of the Télébec laboratory for underground communications at the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) in Val-d'Or, PQ . "Our goal is to bring the two industrial communities together - the telecom suppliers, manufacturers and service providers and the mine operators and exploration companies - and to put our team of researchers in the middle to focus on technology evaluation and technology transfer," he adds. Télébec is the largest industry partner in the three-year project, which includes Bell University Laboratories, mining companies Inco and Soredem, Cattron-Theimeg Canada Ltd. (supplier of radio and infrared remote-control systems), the International Institute of Telecommunications and four university foundations. Underground mines are decades behind other industry sectors in adopting new communications technologies - primarily because of the difficulty in transmitting a radio signal from kilometres underground. Leaky feeders, also called a slotted coax, are commonplace in Canada's mining industry. The system consists of a cable that emits and receives high frequency radio waves, but since it cannot pass through solid rock, it's limited to line of sight applications. Developing a system that overcomes these limitations opens up a new domestic market for Télébec, which is already the primary telecom provider for the resource sector in Quebec. It also creates new global markets for Canadian communications system suppliers. The UQAT lab is developing an ultra wideband (UWB) underground system that could be deployed faster and more cost-effectively than a wired network. The UWB system would be used to locate miners underground, remotely control machinery, and improve voice and data communications. It could also control underground ventilation systems, ensuring that fresh air is supplied only to areas that need it. "A mine uses a lot of energy for supply air underground for people and machinery," says Bélanger. "This could be big savings." The technology has already passed some major hurdles. At an April 3 demonstration, researchers placed a cellular call from 70 metres underground to an office in downtown Val-d'Or, some 13 km away. Another demonstration transmitted moving video from underground to the surface over a UWB wireless link. Bélanger says the first commercial applications could be available within two years, with an initial focus on improved voice communications before expanding to location capability and video. Funding was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council ($700,000) and Canada Economic Development ($434,000) for two projects - one focusing on ongoing research and the second on transferring the technology to industry. Private sector partners have committed approximately $500,000 through cash and in-kind contributions.

Télébec targets emerging wireless market in mines and tunnels

News | April 8, 2008

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