Case study

Digital Switch in Spain: digitalising emergency lift phones

Spain’s digital switch began over 12 years ago, driven by a commercial opportunity: it was evident to lift companies that a cheaper alternative to landline rental was a SIM card, offering the opportunity to digitalise existing PSTN lift phones.
Product related
DCP Lift Digital Communication Platform
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The Problem

Lift maintenance companies soon became interested in the SIM card alternative as it offered them an opportunity for a recurrent revenue stream. Lift companies did not receive any income from the landlines used in lifts as the building owner directly paid a communication provider.

Having an emergency communications system that could work with SIM cards became critical as it also helped lift companies cement their space in the new market with a futureproof solution.

The Solution

MEMCO were able to offer the Digital Communication Platform (DCP), at the time in its 2G version. The DCP is designed as a 100% digital solution that worked with a Digital Audio Unit (DAU) located in the lift car.

Alternatively, as the DCP included an analogue signal emulator, it could also be used with analogue phones to replace the landline connection, as often customers were not ready to replace the existing analogue phone yet. Each DCP can also support up to 4 lift cabins meaning that further cost savings could be shown to building owners.

The Result

DCP quickly became the preferred option for digital lift communication, replacing landlines. Lift engineers were able to show long term savings to building owners and ensured that when the time came to replace the analogue phones a fully digital system could be installed seamlessly.

The digital switch started over a decade ago in Spain, but the process is far from over.  With over 800.000 lifts installed in Spain, the evolution from analogue phones to digital audio units and from 2G to 4G means that the requirement for digital communications still has a long way to go.