Case study Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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The Customer

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is unique among the nation’s transportation agencies. Metro serves as transportation planner, coordinator, designer, builder and operator for one of the country’s largest, most populous counties. More than 9.6 million people—nearly one-third of California’s residents—live, work, and play within its 1,433-square-mile service area.

Metro is a multimodal transportation agency that consists of three companies in one: ■Amajoroperatorwithafleetof2,000cleanairbusesandsixrail

linesthattransportsapproximately1.5millionpassengersonanaverage weekday

■A major construction agency that oversees numerous bus, rail, highway, and other mobility-related building projects

■The lead transportation planning, and programming agency for Los Angeles County

The Challenge: Creating a Master Expansion Plan

In2007,Metrorecognizedtheneedtoupgradeitswaysidecommunicationssystemtosupporta24/7/365operatingenvironment. The agency aimed to ensure that communications-related delays never prevent passengers from reaching their destinations on time.

The wayside communication system’s network was a patchwork ofsegmentedSONET,TDMandLayer2Ethernettechnologieswith disparate equipment from multiple vendors. There was no masterplantoexpandthesystemtosupportMetro’sever-growingbandwidth and performance demands.

The Vision: A Carrier-Class Technology Platform

Dan Lindstrom, manager of wayside systems and communication, had a vision of a single “carrier-class” technology platform. This platform would be engineered to support Metro’s current voice anddatatraffic,whilesimultaneouslyprovidingtheflexibilityandscalability to meet Metro’s future network needs.

To serve the critical communications needs of this large transportation agency, the network would need to support voice, data, and video applications such as customer relations, message boards, radio communications, and video surveillance. Moreover, thenetworkwouldhavetooperateona24x7x365basisinaruggedenvironment typical of a transit agency network.

The Goals

Three goals were set for the project:■Create a carrier-class network platform across the entire Metro

transitsystemwith50ms,self-healingredundancy■Offeracounter-rotatingdual-loopcapabilitythatisexpandable

to provide more bandwidth that can support various subsystems across Metro’s network

■Deliver OPEX savings

Case Study: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro)“…we’ve been able to focus on delivering a better customer experienceforourpassengers…”— Dan Lindstrom, Manager of Wayside Systems and Communication, Metro

Fiber Optics, Inc.

Case study Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority

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ContactFujitsu Network Communications, Inc.2801 Telecom Parkway, Richardson, TX 75082Phone: 888.362.7763www.us.fujitsu.com/telecom

Selecting the Right Partner to Meet the ChallengeFujitsuteamedupwithitscertifiedlocalpartner,JMFiberOptics,todesign and deploy the network. The two partners designed a network consisting of the Fujitsu FLASHWAVE®4500MultiserviceProvisioningPlatform (MSPP) with NETSMART®1500networkmanagementsoftware. The result was an integrated system of technologies and equipment that has the flexibilitytoaccommodatemultiple types and streams of communicationstraffic,andthescalability to support the needs of a rapidly growing transit agency.

“The key drivers of Metro’s decision to award the project to theFujitsu/JMFiberOpticsteamwereFujitsu’scarrier-class,plugandplay equipment that enabled us to just plug it in and forget about it,” said Lindstrom. “As a result, we’ve been able to focus on delivering a bettercustomerexperienceforourpassengers.SincedeployingthesingleFujitsutechnologyplatformin2008,therehasneverbeenacommunications-related failure that has delayed the movement of passengers.”

The biggest key to the success of the project was having a strong local partnerinJMFiberOptics.Thispartnernotonlyoffersextensivedepthofexperienceinthetransportationindustry,itisalsoaFujitsu-certified,trainedpartner.Throughouttheproject,LindstromviewedJMFiberOptics as “Fujitsu’s greatest asset, providing incredible support and

great response any time, day or night.”

JMFiberOpticsPresidentandCEOKenneth Rivera added, “The key differentiating factor is that Fujitsu doesnotutilizeanyresellerthatcomes around, but focuses on selecting partners that will take the time required to train and certify their staff on Fujitsu’s technology.”

Planning for the FutureLookingforward,Metrorecognizesthatupgradingitsnetworkisvital to its future success. It is critical for transportation agencies to evaluate their current networks and determine how best to provide high-bandwidth communications and security services. With the Fujitsu technology platform at the core, Metro’s transit system continues to evolvetofulfilltheneedsofpassengers,suchasprovidingon-boardbroadband Internet access to ensure people stay connected while they travel.

“Fujitsudoesnotutilizeanyresellerthatcomesaround, but focuses on selecting partners that will take the time required to train and certify their staff…”— Kenneth Rivera, President and CEO, JM Fiber Optics