GE Energy Storage announced a deal this week to supply Durathon Batteries to Safaricom, a telecommunications company, in Kenya. The batteries will enable the Safaricom network to run efficiently - even during power outages that continue to be a critical challenge in all of Africa.

“Our technology provides an incredible value to ensure uninterrupted mobile service for millions of Africans.  Durathon Batteries provide reliable back-up power to reduce the downtime of cell towers when outages occur.  In Safaricom’s highest revenue sites, Durathon Batteries reduce downtime by 79%. Our batteries can easily be installed on rooftops, since they weigh less than traditionally-used lead-acid batteries.  This is crucial, since Safaricom’s highest revenue sites are located in the most populated areas of Nairobi,” said Prescott Logan, the General Manager of GE Energy Storage.

The Internet as we know it today is a pervasive computer network that serves 39 percent of the world’s population, or more than 2.7 billion people.

But another Internet, still-emerging, promises to make a dramatic difference by meshing the digital world with the world of industrial machines. It’s the Industrial Internet. This is a software-driven movement that will transform the global hardware industry by combining industrial systems with the power of advanced computing, visualization, analytics, low-cost sensing and new levels of connectivity enabled by the Internet. There is the potential to bring about profound transformation globally — improving industry and lives by connecting people and businesses to the nearly 50 billion machines and systems that move our world, and in turn generate massive value in asset and operational improvements.

Asia Pacific Rail is a platform where regional Rail Operators, industry experts and suppliers gather to give updates on the major projects in the region and discuss market trends and strategies. This year the conference was held in Hong Kong from March 12-14th and GE Transportation was the Silver and Lanyard sponsor.

The GE Transportation booth was well organized and was dedicated solely to promoting the Tempo Solutions. There was strong support from the GE regional teams who traveled to Hong Kong especially to support the event; they actively demonstrated the benefits of the Tempo solutions to potential customers with the help of virtual animated displays of Tempo signaling applications projected on a large LCD screen.

GE Transportation showcases its Tempo ETCS and Computer Based Interlocking solutions at the 4th Signaling and Train Control 2013 conference from March 19th to 21st in Vienna, Austria. The global rail signaling conference allows to share best practice strategies on main line signaling, telecommunications and traffic management with more than 50 leading speakers from the rail industry and 300 attendees. GE Transportation is a Lead sponsor this year and Tempo’s System Architect Director, Francisco Lozano will deliver a presentation on “Developing a strategic and integrated approach to reduce costs and improve service”.To learn more about GE’s Tempo IXL and ETCS products click here.

Today, Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Transportation, a unit of the General Electric Company, released a statement in support of the 2013 Railroad Day on Capitol Hill:

“Railroads are the backbone of the economy, and GE Transportation is proud to support the U.S. freight rail industry,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Transportation. “Freight rail is the most efficient, cleanest, and safest way to haul goods and commodities to communities across the nation.  It is critical that the U.S. freight rail system stays economically vital so that small and large freight railroads alike can continue to invest their own capital in these essential transportation networks.  We’re proud to supply the advanced locomotives, service support, and the signaling and intelligent control technology that fuels the nation’s freight railroads.”