The Flemish Road Authority, Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, have installed Norphonic Roadside Telephones (ERT) inside four tunnels in Antwerp, Belgium.
These road tunnels are located in the city of Antwerp, which is the largest municipality in both Flanders and Belgium. Because many road users depend on the tunnels for their daily commutes, it was important for the Flemish Road Authority to find an ERT solution which would continue to work in difficult environmental conditions and bring quick assistance in case of emergency or car breakdowns.
Following extensive research and testing of available products on the market, the Flemish Road Authority selected the Norphonic VoIP Emergency Roadside Telephone, installed by Imtech Telecom.
The Solution
The Norphonic Heavy Duty VoIP telephone offers many useful Emergency Roadside Phone (ERT) features, including:
- Rugged performance in difficult environments
- Functional, High Visibility Scandinavian design
- Comprehensive VoIP diagnostics,
- Self Monitoring and Fault Check functions
- Noise Reduction feature, ideal for tunnels
- Vandal resistant metal body, handset and cord
- Hook-switch with no moving parts
- Rapid installation and replacement function
Danny Asselman, Operations Manager at Imtech Telecom, comments: “The Norphonic emergency roadside telephones are available with optional redundancy in the form of two built-in single mode fiber ports (LC connectors). This useful redundancy feature makes Norphonic unbeatable in terms of price and functionality”.
Asselman continues “Another valuable benefit with Norphonic was that the system is based on open standards. This meant that we could easily integrate Norphonic with various PBX units, Ethernet switches and existing infrastructure.”
The Norphonic “auto-dial-on-handset-lift” feature allows users to simply lift the handset to connect directly to the roadside assistance help center, so road users don’t have to worry about what number to dial in case of emergency. Additionally, the Norphonic telephone can be controlled and managed from a central location, thereby ensuring cost effective maintenance and improved up-time.
The Result
The Norphonic Emergency Roadside Telephones have so far been in successful continuous operation for over five years, without problems.
Danny Asselman at Imtech Telecom comments “The Norphonic VoIP telephones have proven themselves in terms of quality and reliability. We are very happy with the rugged performance, useful VoIP features and ease of maintenance.”
Helge Rognstad, Sales and Marketing Director at Norphonic, concludes “We are pleased that the Flemish Road Authority have got a dependable system that met their strict road safety requirements. We hope that this will be a good example for other tunnel owners across Europe and beyond.
