French railway company SNCF and telecom regulator Arcep have signed an MoU to combine efforts on the quality and coverage of mobile services on trains. Both parties will work together to develop the means for measuring the coverage and quality of mobile services on-board trains. SNCF also plans on facilitating mobile network rollouts in the vicinity of railway lines. Another aim of the MoU is to lay the foundations for a harmonious deployment of mobile networks and the GSM-R network which is sed for the railway operator’s own purposes.
SNCF announced that it wants “an end to the dialogue of the deaf with mobile operators” to be able to deliver 3G and 4G coverage across the rail network. It said the planned Wi-Fi system for TGV high-speed trains will use LTE. The SNCF Mobilites subsidiary, headed by managing director Guillaume Pepy and chief digital officer Yves Tyrode, announced that 4G and Wi-Fi would also be made available at the busiest trains stations.
The SNCF currently uses a satellite internet system for trains on its TGV East route and Thalys trains, which Pepy describes as ‘nothing special’. The company will choose the technical solution for on-board mobile data by the end of June for deployment towards the end of 2016. The service will be free.
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