VoIP MinePhone allows two-way voice & texting in underground mines
VoIP MinePhone allows two-way voice & texting in underground mines
Mine Site Technologies’ (MST’s) MinePhone, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone handset for underground two-way communications, has received IEC Ex ia Group I Certificate of Conformity from TestSafe. This is the final component of MST’s digital tracking and communication system to be approved.

Already deployed in coal mines in the United States, where MSHA approval was received two months ago, the MinePhone will now be available for use in Australian coal mines and offers a significant communication tool. The MinePhone telephone handset is like a mobile phone for underground, in that it allows private dialling between other phones underground or on the surface, and can also link into the mine’s existing telephone system. Additionally, the MinePhone has 24 channels, Push-to-Talk functionality, text messaging and an emergency call button.

The already certified Wireless Network Switches (WNS’s) which form a the key part of the underground digital backbone can also act as readers for the Wi-Fi RFID Tags that are carried by miners underground, allowing this single, digital communication network to provide both underground communication and tracking throughout the mine. Being Ethernet/IP based, the network can also provide the communication backbone for other corporate data, SCADA systems, etc.

For the more technical minded and IT managers, the ImPact Intrinsically Safe Wireless Network Switch is an integrated multi-port fibre optic switch with dual 802.11b/g wireless Ethernet access points. The fibre optic switch supports up to four single mode fibre optic transceivers operating at 100Mbit/s for its ‘wired’ Ethernet links, while the wireless Ethernet access points (incorporating diversity antennas) provide voice and data links along with the ability to acts as a reader of Mine Site Technologies’ Wi-Fi Tags for the tracking of personnel, vehicles and equipment.
Each IS WNS is used as part of a larger, networked system, and is placed at a location where data, voice, and tracking facilities are required. A typical system is made up of a number of interconnected power limited cells. The cells can be interconnected in a loop configuration to provide multiple, redundant data paths to the surface. The software within the devices constantly monitors the status of these loops so that it can redirect data traffic in the event of cable damage caused by a rock fall or accident.

The IS WNS is unique in that it offers enterprise-class functionality in a fit-for-purpose device for the underground coal industry. In particular, it offers the capability to set up logical networks (Virtual Local Area Networks – VLAN’s) to support specific traffic types and are fully managed and monitored devices supporting SNMP. Devices that do not offer this capability perform poorly in time-critical applications and traffic types, such as voice and video.

With underground digital networks becoming more wide spread, and the MinePhone being the first VoIP telephone certified for coal mine use in Australia, MST is expecting strong demand from existing and new customers replicating the rapid uptake in the United Sates where the MinePhone received MSHSA approval earlier in the year.