I thought German trains had WiFi. No?
by Esther Schindler
Maybe it's just England that has the problem...
This month is when The Boeing Co.'s high-speed Internet service, called Connexion, will go live with Wi-Fi in the sky on four airlines. Meanwhile, Europe's railways are stuck at the buffers.
Comments
No, German trains don't have WiFi. If you are lucky you will find a power outlet.
The swiss railway company has power outlets in their business compartments (mostly), even though, of course, the three-pin Euro-plugs don't fit in.
And, from what I've been told by representatives of Swisscom (TelCo and WiFi operator), they're in talks with Swisscom to install WiFi access in all major trains. But when that will be operational? Don't ask me... :-/
OK, Amtrak's old and rusty railroads network is a joke compared to sheer size of the european rail system, but they DO have a power-outlet for every seat. Even in coach. Extremely useful for laptops with crappy batteries ;-)
Be careful with the power outlets in the train stations, though ... ;-)
German trains even don't have good service.
Some German ICEs have some kind of GSM (mobile phone) amplification. This way you supposedly can use your mobile in the train*. Maybe that was what you remembered.
But: Sometimes the trains are so slow that you can use WiFi networks in the houses next to the tracks :-) Wardriving with Deutsche Bahn!
Well, well -
first: nearly all the Intercitys DO have power outlets nowadays - some even next to every seat.
second: there is no WiFi service on the trains as of yet. But you can get access in some major train stations. And even if its offered in the first class lounges, it also works around it (a fact, that the sales person at the Cologne station, whom I wanted to buy airtime from was not aware of - she told me, that I could only use the WifFi-Access in the lounge and would need a 1st-class ticket to enter. Needless to say, that it worked like a marvel out on the platform next to the lounge :-) )
I had heard that some of the trains (either Virgin or GNER can't remember which) did now have WiFi, but only a very few.
Returning to the piece itself, and with regards the UK, the article talks mainly about the London Underground. There’s a lot of to-ing and fro-ing about enabling cellular ’phone signal routing on the Tube. Lots of people are against it for “social” reasons.
With regards over-land trains, they vary a lot in the UK. For example, my local service has brand new trains, but no wi-fi, and just power sockets near the doors (which we’re told we’re not allowed to use) — other longer distance services offer more, which makes sense (my service is a commuter line, 45 minutes into London. I think we can do without wi-fi for that long ;o)
It was mentioned somewhere on a UK news site that the reason why the London Underground does not have mobile phone access was because of the perceived risk of terrorists remotely detonating bombs underground (like in Madrid). It quoted a Underground spokesman saying this. Actually seems reasonable to me, and who wants to listen to other peoples phone conversations anyway...
Ben, I hope that Stinky's battery also lasts for 45 minutes. :-)
It does ;o) Which is just as well given how much of my code is getting written on the train at the moment!
