Cellnex will “connect” Saba and Bamsa car parks to mobile broadband

The DAS technology will be available in more than 40 car parks during 2018

• Saba customers can enjoy greater connectivity in car parks and access new value-added services that require the use of mobile data, such as carsharing, e-commerce collection points or payment through mobile applications.
• Cellnex will equip 43 Saba and Saba Barcelona Bamsa (Bamsa) car parks in Spain with DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) technology to provide them with mobile broadband coverage, and with 5G in the future.
• The planned investment is € 1 million. This includes the design, roll-out and 24×7 maintenance of the infrastructure.

Barcelona, 8 June 2018. Following a tender process, Saba and Bamsa have awarded Cellnex Telecom the contract to provide mobile broadband coverage for a total of 43 car parks in Spain during 2018. The car park group will invest around € 1 million.

Cellnex will equip the Saba car parks with DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems) technology to offer mobile coverage (voice and data) and 5G in the future, with a solution open to all mobile operators on the market. Specifically, there will be 31 car parks in Barcelona (12 of them managed by Saba and the remaining 19 within the Bamsa perimeter), 2 in Girona, 1 in Mataró, 1 in Terrassa, 2 in Seville, 1 in Madrid, 1 in Alicante, 1 in Marbella, 1 in Pamplona, ​​1 in A Coruña and 1 in Castro Urdiales.

In total, Cellnex will deploy more than 500 small antennas on the various storeys of these car parks, especially in the main usage areas such as ATMs, control centres, electric vehicle charging points, Carsharing areas or circulation lanes, among others.

The roll-out of this neutral, multi-operator solution will improve the user experience and avoid the network outages that often occur in underground areas due to lack of coverage. This will ensure mobile coverage and Internet access throughout the car park, enabling the use of mobile devices and multipurpose applications (email, route-planning map applications or the possibility to redeem products and discounts through apps like Saba’s). It is also scalable and is therefore prepared to respond to future demand for increased data traffic with the future 5G. The overall project includes the design, roll-out and 24×7 maintenance of the infrastructure.

The advantages associated with this greater connectivity of the Saba and Bamsa car parks will make it possible to develop and roll out new “Smart Parking” applications. The value-added services that Saba already offers its customers are what are known as e-commerce collection points operated by Pudo, which can offer greater functionalities to customers thanks to this enhanced mobile broadband. This greater connectivity will also be noticeable in the electric vehicle recharging areas that Saba provides to its customers or the parking spaces reserved for Carsharing operators.

The vision of the Saba car park as a services hub also includes housing the so-called urban micro-distribution points within the infrastructure. This initiative goes back a long way in densified cities and will undoubtedly make best use of the advantages offered by mobile broadband. All of this without forgetting other advantages such as geolocation services within the car park.

Finally, the widespread roll-out of mobile broadband will allow greater commercial dynamism in the Saba and Bamsa parking areas. The improved Internet connection will enable users to immediately contract products tailored to their needs and will guarantee payment and mobile access to their car parks using apps.

Cellnex Telecom has extensive experience in DAS solutions. The company has equipped sports stadiums, theaters, kyscrapers, shopping centres with parking areas, airports, metro lines, railway stations and high footfall outdoor environments with this technology.

About Cellnex Telecom

Cellnex Telecom is Europe’s leading operator of wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures with a total portfolio of 28,000 sites including forecast roll-outs up to 2022. Cellnex operates in Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom.

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 and 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.

About Saba

Saba is a key industrial operator in the development of solutions in the field of urban mobility and is specialised in managing car parks. With a staff of more than 1,500, the Group is present in five countries in Europe and Latin America and has 208,000 parking spaces distributed in 375 centres.

The company, which is focused on cutting-edge innovation and new commercial strategies, incorporates smart services associated with the mobility of people and vehicles into its car parks. It was a pioneer in installing VIA T, QR technology-based payment and has a website from which you can buy 100% digital products. Furthermore, the company has boosted the use of new control systems, mechanisation of ATM discounts and developed services.

About Bamsa

Saba Bamsa is a joint venture owned 60% by Saba and 40% by Barcelona City Hall through BSM. The company, which currently manages 19 car parks in the city centre, will in future hold up to 26 car parks that will be incorporated into the network as the current concessions come to an end.

Since it was set up in 2014, Bamsa’s main characteristic has been to offer a parking network with the highest standards of quality and technology. Focused on offering mobility solutions specially designed for city centres, Bamsa has avant-garde facilities which bring together the latest innovations in the sector.