WIFI FOR UK RAIL
Posted on 26 June 2009 by Railways Africa Editor
Broadband internet access will be made available across Britain’s rail network in terms of plans contained within the government’s Digital Britain report. Ministers are considering whether a requirement to provide wireless internet access should be built into the next generation of rail franchises while fragmented initiatives to provide telecoms coverage on the tube are set to be reinvigorated to ensure transport for the London 2012 Olympics meets the expectations of visitors to the Games.
The long-awaited Digital Britain report sets out how the government intends to make broadband available to everyone, to avoid a two-tier society with a growing gap between affluent, connected Britons and those without adequate access to the internet.
In seeking ubiquitous mobile coverage the report notes that there is a need to address notable gaps in coverage, such as transport networks. Measures announced last year by the European Commission have paved the way for mobile services to be accessible on pan-European flights but, the report says, there has been a failure to provide reliable and consistent broadband mobile coverage over the length of UK main railway lines.
Digital Britain acknowledges that progress is being made in expanding the commercial provision of higher bandwidth services across the rail network but says these services may not be uniformly available. To resolve this it says one option is to make the provision of high speed broadband services part of the rail franchise requirements for train operators or to integrate the requirement to provide mobile broadband services into the next Network Rail control period funding. Further discussions will also be held with Network Rail to ease access to Network Rail land for commercially based services.
Broadband provision on the tube network is criticised with the report complaining of “a near total mobile coverage blackout over the central London section of the London Underground, including even large stations”. It says that although rail travellers can currently enjoy wireless connectivity, the service across the network as a whole is variable in performance and availability.
However, the 2012 Olympics – described by the report as “the most digital Olympics in history” – provides an opportunity to address this. Digital Britain says the event “seems a particularly good reason for the mobile network operators to work with the Mayor of London to provide and fund solutions to take the initiative to improve the broadband mobile access for mobile customers travelling by tube – including the huge influx of international visitors to the London Olympics”. It says that if regulatory or other similar constraints turn out to be a barrier to achieving this, the government is willing to intervene.
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