Cellnex “connects” all B:SM car parks to mobile broadband

• Users of B:SM car parks can now enjoy greater connectivity to access value-added services such as electric vehicle charging points, carsharing, mobile phone payments and e-commerce pick-up points.
• Cellnex has equipped the 40 B:SM car parks in Barcelona with DAS technology (Distributed Antenna Systems) to provide them with 3G and 4G mobile broadband coverage, scalable in the future to 5G.
• The investment made amounts to €1 million. This includes the design, roll-out and maintenance of the infrastructure.

Barcelona, 11 November 2020. Cellnex Telecom has completed the roll-out of the project awarded by Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) to provide mobile broadband coverage for its network of 40 car parks in Barcelona to offer improved service to its users, make their daily tasks easier and focus on new uses of car parks as multi-service mobility centres.

Now users of these car parks enjoy greater connectivity when making calls, browsing the internet and using new value-added services such as access to shared vehicles, using their mobile phones for charging points or access to e-commerce pick-up zones.

Cellnex has equipped the 40 car parks in the B:SM network with DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) technology allowing it to offer 3G and 4G mobile coverage (voice and data) and soon 5G, with a multi-operator solution open to all mobile market operators. In total, more than 500 small antennas have been deployed across the storeys of all the car parks, with special emphasis on the main points of use: pay stations, control centres, electric vehicle recharging points, car sharing areas and traffic lanes.

The project involved an investment of €1 million, which also includes the comprehensive 24×7 maintenance of the infrastructure.

Improved user experience 

The roll-out of broadband coverage in car parks —especially underground ones— provides significant benefits and advantages for users of the B:SM network, with guaranteed Internet access from anywhere in the car park. In this way we can improve users’ experience regarding call quality and use of internet and the services associated with mobile applications.

This coverage also allows for problem-free usage of the charging points for electric vehicles in the “Endolla Barcelona” network located in the B:SM car parks that are managed through the “smou” app. The “smou” app also makes it possible to speed up entry and exit of the car park by reading the license plate and avoiding the need to pay at the pay station, since charging is performed via mobile phone.

In addition, the advantages associated with this greater connectivity will allow the roll-out of new applications and perform a conceptual conversion towards a “Service Centre” from the point of view of Smart Parking. This will facilitate management of other value-added services such as e-commerce distribution and collection points and courier and parcel lockers. These types of services make more intensive use of data, which is why all facilities have been provided with 4G connectivity and have rolled out this type of 5G-adaptable infrastructures.

Cellnex Telecom has extensive experience in DAS solutions. The company has equipped hospitals, sports stadiums, skyscrapers, shopping centres with parking areas, airports, metro lines, railway stations and high footfall outdoor environments with this technology In 2019 the company also provided connectivity to 43 SABA and SABA Barcelona Bamsa car parks in Spain with this technology.

About Cellnex Telecom

Cellnex Telecom is Europe’s leading operator of wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures with a portfolio of 61,000 sites including forecast roll-outs up to 2027. Cellnex operates in Spain, Italy, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Portugal.

Cellnex’s business is structured in four major areas: telecommunications infrastructure services, audiovisual broadcasting networks, security and emergency service networks and solutions for smart urban infrastructure and services management (Smart cities e the “Internet of Things” (IoT)).

The company is listed on the continuous market of the Spanish stock exchange and is part of the selective IBEX 35 and EuroStoxx 600 indices. It is also part of the FTSE4GOOD and CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and “Standard Ethics” sustainability indexes. Cellnex’s reference shareholders include Edizione, GIC, ADIA, CriteriaCaixa, Blackrock, Wellington Management Group and Canada Pension Plan.

For more information: www.cellnextelecom.com

About Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM)

Barcelona de Serveis Municipals (B:SM) is a Barcelona City Council company that was set up in 2002 with the aim of unifying the provision of municipal services in a single company. Currently, the activities managed by B:SM are varied and include aspects related with mobility and management of reference facilities dedicated to culture, leisure and biodiversity.

For more information: www.bsmsa.cat