Glasgow City Council

Glasgow City Council’s initial requirement was to upgrade their traffic light system to UTMC (Urban Traffic Management and Control) standards. Through their research working with Peek they saw the potential of reducing ongoing revenue costs by implementing wireless technology and asked NOW Wireless to help find a solution.

NOW Wireless proposed the use of a Mesh4G™ wireless network for the central management of traffic lights across the city.

A trial was implemented to demonstrate the effectiveness of a Mesh4G™ network in a city environment. Military-grade wireless technology was implemented at street-level because of the risk of interference. This robust and highly secure technology was designed for use in the battlefield. Mesh4G™ networks use QCMR (Quad Channel Military Radio) technology, making them highly robust and resistant to interference and blocking. They are also able to self-heal and self-form which further increases the reliability of the network.

The trial ran successfully for a year and a half which resulted in Glasgow City requesting the installation of a full live system.

Using Mesh4G™ wireless technology we are currently connecting 350 traffic lights in Glasgow to the council’s CITRAC Centre where all the city’s traffic lights can be controlled and managed centrally. Glasgow intends to extend this network to connect up to 1000 traffic lights in the near future.