Terrestrial Versus Satellite Connection to Trains – There’s Only One Way to Settle it…

Mobile coverage along one of the UK’s longest main train routes appears to have improved significantly according to network analyst company Streetwave. The recent one-off survey, reported in ISReview online, indicates that 94% of the London to Edinburgh route is covered by at least one mobile network provider (EE). However, at the other end of the scale, O2 customers can enjoy connectivity for a mere 45% of the journey.

The surprisingly high level of coverage may argue against those who have seen the addition of LEO satellite connectivity as a vital tool to fill in coverage gaps, especially as the train operator, and Network Rail have a joint plan to improve coverage still further north of Kings Cross.

The recent Streetwave report shows that some mobile users were without “essential mobile coverage” (taken to be connectivity of above 1Mbps download speeds, 0.5Mbps upload, and below 100ms of latency) – for almost half of the 4-hour 38 minute journey between the two capital cities. Connectivity dropped regularly for every network, although those with EE appeared to suffer only 17minutes of no reception.

The survey was conducted on a half-full, evening Azuma train at the end of last month. Last year, the Government called on Ofcom to report annually on the availability of mobile coverage on mainline rail routes.

The East Coast mainline was once home to satellite-delivered WiFi on trains and this type of service is widely seen as making something of a come-back with the advent of Low Earth Orbit satellite systems.

ScotRail has recently been successfully trialling satellite-delivered broadband to trains in the north of Scotland. The UK operator is following new US train operator, Brightline, in connecting some of its trains to SpaceX’s Starlink service. Elon Musk’s company currently boasts a constellation of several thousand satellites orbiting Earth at approximately 550km which it says can deliver connection speeds of up to 220Mbps and latency of around ~40 ms.

Now, it remains to be seen if improving terrestrial mobile coverage will negate the need for additional satellite connections on more popular routes. For example, in Germany the four mobile network operators recently agreed a deal with Deutsche Bahn and the government to install a 5G network along 278km of rail tracks between Hamburg and Berlin. In addition, Telekom Deutschland says it is upgrading 1,900 sites and constructing 470 new masts across Germany’s railway lines, while Vodafone reports that it is building a 5G stand-alone network along Germany’s Intercity-Express lines – due to be finished by the end of 2025.

The discussions over how much satellite delivery can replace land-based connectivity will be one of the main features of next year’s Traincomms Conference in London (www.Traincomms.com ).

Traincomms 2024 was sponsored by Huber+Suhner, Westermo, CGI, Boldyn Networks, Galgus and Icomera. Oxyfi, Antonics and Polomarconi were exhibitors.
For more information on speaking, sponsoring and attending the 2025 Conference please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com

The 2024 programme is available here http://traincomms.com/#content2b