Hyundai Construction Develops Wireless Communication for Underground Tunnels Using TV Frequencies

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] Hyundai Engineering & Construction announced on the 25th that its TV frequency-based underground tunnel major disaster prevention solution, jointly proposed with the Inonet consortium, has passed and received regulatory sandbox designation for demonstration.

The regulatory sandbox is a system that exempts current regulations to allow businesses to prioritize launching and testing new products and services utilizing new technologies in the market for trial and verification.

Previously, installing LTE repeaters from telecom companies was essential for communication between inside and outside the tunnel, but due to the harsh environment inside tunnels, building communication networks was difficult and costly. In spaces where network construction was challenging, walkie-talkies were used; however, these only allowed communication within the tunnel, making it difficult to monitor underground workers from outside the tunnel and limiting immediate response in case of accidents.

To solve this problem, Hyundai Engineering & Construction collaborated with Inonet, which holds patents related to unused frequency bands (TVWS), to introduce wireless communication technology using TVWS. By using mobile TVWS transceivers, Wi-Fi communication is possible throughout the entire tunnel, communication can be maintained over non-line-of-sight distances up to 10 km, and communication between underground and aboveground is also enabled.

Last September, Hyundai Engineering & Construction successfully demonstrated this wireless communication technology using the unused frequency band (TVWS) allocated for TV broadcasting but unused by broadcasters, making it available for anyone, for the first time domestically in an underground construction site at the Byeollae Line double-track railway construction project.

This technology was previously only operable outdoors where GPS reception was possible due to lack of related regulations, but with the approval of the regulatory sandbox, it can now be applied to underground spaces, enabling its use in various wireless internet-based smart construction technologies. Combined with AI CCTV to detect helmet wearing and worker falls, tunnel internal public Wi-Fi, warning lights and alarms, two-way emergency calls, and IoT weather and gas sensors, Hyundai Engineering & Construction expects a significant enhancement in underground site safety management capabilities.

A Hyundai Engineering & Construction official said, "With this designation, effective on-site response is now possible regardless of location," adding, "We plan to actively expand the application of this technology to underground tunnel sites where network construction is difficult, remote mountainous areas, and overseas sites in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.