ARRIVA UK TRAINS
and they will remain connected until they leave their destination station .
“ Station Wi-Fi enables a seamless passenger journey without disruption to their Wi-Fi . Another key benefit is when trains are stopping at stations that have this interconnectivity the passenger actually gets a much higher throughput and faster service that you receive when you ’ re on train .”
Another close partnership involves EE and Icomera , who are working with Arriva on improving the consistency of connectivity , particularly by improving the quality and coverage of the cellular network along the rail routes .
“ We ’ ve worked together to provide communications technology that removes those ‘ not spots ’ and we ’ ve also been able to optimise the existing signals so that effectively the overall services now offer a more consistent coverage for users ,” Ives explains .
The partnership with EE , which was announced in February this year , will see EE add extra network capacity and coverage through a wireless trackside network . This will transform the ontrain working experience for customers providing constant highspeed connectivity and the removal of black spot phone call drop outs . BT ’ s Andy Summerfield adds : “ Providing signal into train carriages has always been a challenge for any network provider , but for the first time this partnership between EE and Arriva will help keep passengers connected throughout their journey . People expect great connectivity wherever they go , and EE is helping to keep customers connected through innovative partnerships like this and building its ’ 4G network out to cover 95 percent of the UK geography by 2020 – farther than any network has ever gone before . “
Business benefits Innovation is not a new concept at Arriva – it was one of the first train companies to introduce free Wi-Fi around five years ago , on its London to Birmingham Chiltern Railways trains . Ives says : “ Since then we ’ ve invested in 4G capability , however due to black spots on the line the service was limited in places . It was always
62 November 2016