Leading cellular technology vendors are clambering on board the global initiative led by the International Union of Railways (UIC) to move rail communication forward to 5G for critical operational and passenger services. Ericsson is the latest mover joining UNIFE, Europe’s rail association developing critical network capabilities for the industry based on the 5G-based FRMCS (Future Railway Mobile Communication Systems) aiming to improve railway operation quality, efficiency, passenger experience and network security. The announcement came with a bland statement from Manuel Ruiz, head of Mission Critical Networks at Ericsson, that mission-critical networks based on 5G will “enable the rail industry to meet the challenge of digitalization and business transformation.” Currently they are having to manage on 4G or even 3G, which…