T-Mobile and Virgin Trains to Offer Wifi
T-Mobile and Virgin Trains to Offer Wifi
28th April , 2009
UK :
T-Mobile and Virgin Trains announced the launch of high speed wireless internet for passengers on all Pendolino Virgin trains on the West Coast Main Line. The Wi-Fi HotSpot service will provide a wireless broadband connection throughout the entire journey, including all tunnel sections, at high speeds.
The HotSpot service has been rolled out by T-Mobile’s solution partner, Nomad Digital. The HotSpot service will provide train passengers with fast and reliable access to the internet, email and other applications, whether for work or leisure purposes. First Class passengers will get complimentary access to the service, while other passengers can purchase HotSpot passes online from their Wi-Fi enabled device.
T-Mobile Mobile Broadband pay monthly customers have unlimited HotSpot access included in their plans, so will be able to access the new service at no extra cost. The service will initially be rolled out on Virgin’s 52 Pendolino trains, and by mid Summer, the 21 Super Voyager trains will also be Wi-Fi enabled. Virgin’s West Coast Main Line services see around 22.5 million passenger journeys per annum. T-Mobile and Nomad Digital have been at the forefront of the provision of access to internet on trains and partnered for the world’s first ever broadband Wi-Fi service on trains on the London to Brighton Southern route.
The two companies also partnered to provide onboard Wi-Fi access to passengers on all Heathrow Express trains. T-Mobile provides Wi-Fi HotSpot access across the UK in places where you need it most, - including the places regular cellular network technology finds harder to reach. In January 2009 T-Mobile’s Mobile Broadband service came top in the independent YouGov survey of 1,958 mobile broadband users. The results ranked T-Mobile first in nine out of 13 categories including upload and download speeds, customer service, easy start up and use, and value for money. Commenting on the news, Richard Warmsley, Head of Internet and Entertainment for T-MobileUK said: As the popularity of mobile broadband continues to soar, we want to do everything we can to offer people access to the internet wherever they are.
This provides a unique solution on-board Virgin Trains , at no extra cost to our pay monthly Mobile Broadband customers, and available to everyone, whatever mobile phone network they use. From business users checking emails or sending documents on the way to and from work, to people checking their Facebook, or downloading songs for the trip, this new mobile broadband service offers all passengers the opportunity to make the most of their journeys. Graham Leech, Executive Director Commercial for Virgin Trains added: We’re always looking at ways to improve the travel experience for our passengers so we’re pleased to be able to answer their requests for access to the internet on our trains. We hope this latest improvement to our services will make travelling all the more enjoyable and productive for all our passengers.
T-Mobile and Nomad have a great track record for delivering these types of projects and we’re confident our customers will receive the fast, reliable internet access they require. Graeme Lowdon, Nomad Digital chief executive said: Nomad Digital was the first into the rail broadband market and we have continued to lead the field. Our system has been proved in different countries and on different networks, from the USA to the Middle East. We have worked with T-Mobile before in installing the first ever rail broadband system on the Brighton Express and Heathrow Express routes and we are delighted to be partnering them again. This new installation on one of the UK’s main rail arteries is significant. Enabling high-speed data connectivity to trains provides numerous opportunities to deliver innovative services for passengers and we are delighted to be working on this project together with such forward thinking and customer focussed companies as T-Mobile and Virgin Trains. ’’