T-Mobile to offer worlds first broadband wi-fi service on trains [Back to News Reports]

17th February 2005 - T-Mobile will launch the world's first genuine broadband Wi-Fi service for passengers on the London to Brighton rail route later this summer. Commuters on Southern's express rail service - one of the busiest routes for business people travelling to and from London - will be able to send and receive emails or surf the internet securely while travelling on the train.

The Wi-Fi service, called T-Mobile HotSpot, will give passengers the opportunity to enjoy broadband speeds from their Wi-Fi enabled laptops or PDAs for the entire duration of the journey.

The service is made possible through a partnership with Southern (who are providing access to the trains and station locations where the service will be offered), Nomad Digital (who provide the technology) and T-Mobile (who offer the Wi-Fi service to customers).

T-Mobile's HotSpot service is made possible by the installation of Wi-Fi access points within the train's carriages, which in turn are connected to a WiMax network running alongside the tracks. These links pass data in both directions at rates of up to 32Mb/s, making this the fastest data link to a train anywhere in the world.

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