Hi,

We are working on a new way to get WiFi onto a train. We use a patented approach injecting the internet signal onto the electricity wires feeding the trains. This makes for an always on connection and speeds far better than anything on the market right now. The trials we are performing are with 234Mb/s chipsets and the throughputs are, to put it mildly, fantastic. We are around 2000 faster than any of are competitors with reliablity that is second to none. Check out our website and watch this space, 2005 and IP Everywhere Inc are going to have a lot to say about productivity whilst travelling.

Tony Whelan
CEO IP Everywhere Inc

As I understand it, Southwest Trains won't invest in wireless for passengers - something to do with not recouping their investment if they lose their franchise, I believe. This is ironic as (a) I spend a great deal of time standing around on stations waiting for late trains, and (b) I notice they have a large billboard at Aldershot station advertising Intel's wireless Centrino :-( That really hurts :-)

Never mind train WiFi; what about trans station WiFi?

Seems to be working for Broadreach...

Paul: sorry to take so long to comment!

My experience on the GNER WiFi link was pretty much what you might expect for someone playing with a prototype system - very disappointing.

But had the Wifi worked only for ten minutes here and ten minutes there, it would still have been better than GPRS was. I used GPRS all the way from Kings Cross to Glasgow, and I can asure you, it was only occasionally useful, and only for limited purposes.

If you want to send an instant message - and if you're in GSM coverage! - then it's wonderful.

But to actually shift data, it's too expensive, too slow, and too unreliable.

On my GNER journey, I urgently needed a small driver file for the Palm Tungsten. It was 14 megabytes long; at home, I'd have downloaded it inside four minutes, without thinking. On the train, I had about seven attempts to download it.

Each time I got to about two meg of the 14 meg file, we ran out of wireless range, and the download aborted. After starting the download around Grantham, I gave up around half an hour south of Edinburgh. A complete failure, nonetheless costing my phone bill for about 6 meg of data download!

Edited by author 03-17-2004 09:16 AM
Nice to see the Virgin-Broadreach wireless plans are rolling out, bit by bit...

Edited by author 02-24-2004 11:02 AM

MMS
Nice top see that WiFi is working on trains but so does GPRS. And it's easier to carry a phone/PDA than a laptop. And the battery will last longer. I'm no great fan of mobile phone companies but WiFi on a train doesn't seem like an amazing achievement. I know the WiFi bandwidth is far higher but ease of use counts for a lot too.

This is my message testing out this bulletin board about trains.

I used the GNER service in the middle of December, and also managed to squeeze in a quick interview with the Chief Exec of GNER whilst on the train. Full article on Mobitopia: http://www.mobitopia.com/20031212.html#172708

Edited by author 01-24-2004 07:48 AM
Normally, I let the Hunky Mouse have his conversations in his own patch, but since he was commenting on something I wrote I thought he could darn well come here.

Ah, well, OK; he was actually commentating on something Rupert Goodwins is going to write. But he mentioned this thread, too. Fair enough, right?

Some time next month, I expect to be testing the joys of WiFi on the journey from London to Glasgow. Yes; the trains are catching up with the wireless world at last!

Would you choose a train according to the wireless provider?