French high-speed trains to offer WiFi

Paul Rasmussen — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:52:53 -0500

French rail operator SNCF is planning to roll out WiFi services on all its TGV Est trains by the end of 2010. The decision by SNCF to deploy a paid-for WiFi service on its whole Est fleet follows a successful WiFi trial earlier this year. The free trial provided downlink data speeds of 2Mbs and uplink speeds of 512kbs, using a combination of satellite connectivity and WiFi relays on the ground. More than 12,000 passengers logged on the service during the trial period. The network infrastructure will be provided by the OCEA consortium of Alstom, Capgemini, Eutelsat and Orange Business Services. TGV Est provides high speed (up to 320kph) train services to Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland from Paris.

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Tgv Est

French high-speed trains to offer WiFi