[Article] Iarnród Éireann offered free Wi-Fi network

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by ccos

Was on a DB train with wifi recently, two points to note

1 its not free, you have to have a t mobile account or pay with credit card.

2 Only available on ICE trains between Dortmund and Munich, even if you are on a hotspot train you can't use it off this line.

Thalys (Paris/Brussels/Koln/Amsterdam) has it as well, but not all trains fitted yet, a fairly huge lump is bolted onto the roof to enable the satellite connection, its quite tall so much so it would get lobbed off by the first bridge on the way out of Heuston... And its not free but it grants you access to a limited number of website for free, basically enough to book a train ticket with them. Found it remarkably irritating to pay for a connection, gave up

DB seem to be using the wimax setup which requires a box every 2-4km along the line, wimax might do 75km but when mobile it can't. The 3G/satellite arrangement avoids the need to fit boxes everywhere, that said you can have 3G/wimax/satellite onboard if you wish, handy for tunnels

[ccos]

DB seem to be using the wimax setup which requires a box every 2-4km along the line, wimax might do 75km but when mobile it can't. The 3G/satellite arrangement avoids the need to fit boxes everywhere, that said you can have 3G/wimax/satellite onboard if you wish, handy for tunnels
__________________

Im not sure of the geeky **** but all I can say is unlimited www access if u have an account or pay log in fee, ony DB sites otherwise and only in certain areas. this seems to be 1st class service.

[Mark Gleeson]

In simple terms its the more expensive way to do it and is geographically restricted

In the UK if you took one of the GNER trains with Wifi it would work just about anywhere in the UK, such flexibility is good

The free proposal for Ireland was based on the wimax option though the practicalities of it and the use of IE's dark fiber optic network didn't seem to be worked out

[chris]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

On trial it appears

Bus much easier than a train, fewer people, slower speed, less safety red tape and few if any tunnels.

We did the back of an envelope numbers and to fit out the rail fleet would be very significant and the same money would get a lot more in terms of service improvements

Do your figures involve fitting out the entire train? A wifi carriage might be a possibility.

PS Does the Port Tunnel not count?

[Mark Gleeson]

First class and standard are different coaches. The kit has to be certified to rail safety standards so a cheap router off ebay won't work. The laws of physics are a problem, faster you go the more difficult the connection is, 90kph vs 165kph. Railways are full of deep cuttings and isolated countryside

Principle concern is slicing a hole in the roof for the satellite receiver

[Thomas J Stamp]

can we just keep this simple? otherwise you all know where this is going.

mkkkkkaaaaayyyy?

[chris]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Principle concern is slicing a hole in the roof for the satellite receiver

Maybe this was the aspect of 'heavy engineering' they were referring to in the Mk3 refurb tender

[Thomas J Stamp]

Originally Posted by chris

Do your figures involve fitting out the entire train? A wifi carriage might be a possibility.

PS Does the Port Tunnel not count?

my mobile worked perfectly in the port tunnel last week so dont see why not.

[comcor]

I noticed on the 4pm Dublin-Cork train last Thursday that there was a wireless network showing up as "Free Public Wifi" or something similar. Is there some sort of roll-out planned?

At the moment, there doesn't seem to be a DHCP server, so it's useless.

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by comcor

I noticed on the 4pm Dublin-Cork train last Thursday that there was a wireless network showing up as "Free Public Wifi" or something similar. Is there some sort of roll-out planned?

At the moment, there doesn't seem to be a DHCP server, so it's useless.

Probably a rouge laptop somewhere

[Colm Moore]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Probably a rouge laptop somewhere

Any in beige or purple?

[Donal Quinn]

be careful with that!

[Mark Gleeson]

I can report that Irish Rail are conducting trials of Wifi on the Dublin Cork route using 3G only. Borrow a computer science student, get a modem from the 4 networks and its easy enough hack something up. Though IE really need to be looking at something like this http://www.icomera.com/m400_overview.php?id=1&p=1

It works but there are 3 major blackspots en route. 3G coverage is rubbish outside populated areas. Other routes ruled out due lack of coverage

Talk of filtering as well to block youtube, to avoid the connection being saturated with unproductive traffic

[Colm Moore]

Satellite download might be ideal for cuttings and remote areas.

[dowlingm]

something like this (scroll to near the bottom) - would be a start

[Mark Gleeson]

The best solution is one unit per train as each 3G modem is competing for the same bandwidth

Remember the business case is based in access to the trains computer for operational reasons not kids on youtube

[markpb]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

Remember the business case is based in access to the trains computer for operational reasons not kids on youtube

If Irish Rail are going to offer a Wifi product to customers years after people asked for it, they should do it properly. A service that doesn't work in some areas, provides slow speeds and has a blacklist of sites isn't going to be attractive. Then again, they can't operate a train service properly, what hope is there for anything else.

[Mark Gleeson]

Blame 02 for the bad connection

It looks to be targeted at business given its Cork only, given the constraints on the link blocking youtube and then other less how shall we say graphic sites is not unreasonable

What was GNER in the UK are looking to clamp down on high bandwidth users

[MOH]

Originally Posted by markpb

If Irish Rail are going to offer a Wifi product to customers years after people asked for it, they should do it properly. A service that doesn't work in some areas, provides slow speeds and has a blacklist of sites isn't going to be attractive. Then again, they can't operate a train service properly, what hope is there for anything else.

Is that the wi-fi or the train you're talking about?

[markpb]

Originally Posted by MOH

Is that the wi-fi or the train you're talking about?

Train :-)