WiFi now on all Intercity Trains.

Sponge Bob · 23-10-2012 3:14pm

Fraid so, the 3g mobile networks that backhaul the wifi are located along roads not along railway lines.

Ben D Bus · 23-10-2012 4:55pm

Really need WiFi on the Enterprise. I lose my 3g connction as soon as I cross the border. Most passengers will only have their own mobile account for half of the journey.

vikingdub · 23-10-2012 7:21pm

Ben D Bus wrote: »

Really need WiFi on the Enterprise. I lose my 3g connction as soon as I cross the border. Most passengers will only have their own mobile account for half of the journey.

Was on the Enterprise myself today and was quite surprised that there was no wifi, I was under the impression it had been installed, there are also parts of the route where there is no mobile phone signal at all. Not much good to people who plan to use the journey for business purposes.

dowlingm · 24-10-2012 3:56am

Holding off until somehow shekels are found to give the DDs its midlife refit?

Ben D Bus · 24-10-2012 10:51am

Just as aside, Im currently sitting on the Enterprise using WiFi. There is an Easons virtual bookstore on the Connolly concourse and it seems to be providing unrestricted access to the web.

dtipp · 24-10-2012 11:03am

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Fraid so, the 3g mobile networks that backhaul the wifi are located along roads not along railway lines.

They shouldn't be allowed advertise that they have Wifi considering it's so bad.
Reflects badly on Irish Rail anyway, cause it feels like they are tricking people when they actually get on the train and see how poor it is.

Peanut · 30-12-2012 1:55am

Tried the free wifi for the first time on the Dublin-Sligo route this weekend and it was also practically unusable.

dealhunter1985 · 30-12-2012 1:59am

from what I recall on my last i'd say 8 trips on the sligo-dublin train, I managed to get connected once and it was unusable.
the rest of the time, I simply couldnt get connected
I wasnt surprised though. My expectations of Irish Rail were already so low

embraer170 · 30-12-2012 9:44am

Used it from Killarney to Dublin two days ago. It worked absolutely perfectly for pretty much the whole way and seemed a far better interface and system than I have used on the continent. I traveled almost daily on a Wifi equipped high speed train for a year and the system didn't work more than half the time.

Louche Lad · 30-12-2012 11:05am

I've used it several times on Limerick-Dublin trains recently and it's been OK.

juan.kerr · 30-12-2012 11:18am

When will this be on the DART?

stick-dan · 30-12-2012 11:22am

It was deplorable at best when it was first rolled out, but recently I've been making quite a few journeys between Dublin - Galway - Dublin and Dublin - Carlow - Dublin and it's served it's purpose just fine with the exception on the Dublin - Galway - Dublin line as it goes through some bogland which is acceptable I think.

goingnowhere · 30-12-2012 12:04pm

juan.kerr wrote: »

When will this be on the DART?

Already is

MOH · 30-12-2012 12:07pm

goingnowhere wrote: »

Already is

I was on the DART for the first time in ages last week and was surprised to find free wi-fi available.

Turned it off within five minutes, it was rubbish.

bmaxi · 30-12-2012 1:40pm

On the Rosslare line, certainly from Gorey, it's virtually unusable too as the terrain is so hilly, really only connects in towns. I can appreciate what the problem is but wonder was there any research done at all into how effective the system would be or is it just like a lot of the "technological advances" rolled out by state bodies which are just so much window dressing.

MOH · 30-12-2012 3:08pm

bmaxi wrote: »

On the Rosslare line, certainly from Gorey, it's virtually unusable too as the terrain is so hilly, really only connects in towns. I can appreciate what the problem is but wonder was there any research done at all into how effective the system would be or is it just like a lot of the "technological advances" rolled out by state bodies which are just so much window dressing.

Bear in mind that for at least 4 years Irish Rail in their infinite wisdom insisted wifi was pointless as it would soon be obsolete:

Irish Rail FAQ 2008 wrote:

Is there Wi-Fi technology onboard IÉ trains so I can access the internet?
Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) feels that it wouldn’t be in the public or the company’s best interest to install the current wireless technologies on its fleet for customer use due to the limited lifespan of said technologies. Anything we install now is likely to be completely redundant within five years.

We feel customers would be better supported by obtaining their own wireless solutions, such as those provided by the mobile providers (3G and GPRS/EDGE ).

IÉ is hoping that near-future new technologies such as WiMax and other long range wireless tech will make the idea of onboard solutions redundant. We will continue to monitor the speed of advance of such technologies and if we deem that change is not occurring quickly enough we may reconsider the situation.

Of course, now that 3G+ coverage has reached a point where it actually is a viable alternative, they've decided to waste money installing a wifi system which is often inferior.

goingnowhere · 30-12-2012 3:14pm

Back in 2007 that was the case, 3G coverage was very poor and the on train tech was still in its infancy

Move on to 2012, but the on train gear is second or third generation, is LTE/4G compatible, had they installed back in 2007 the gear would be obsolete by now as it would'nt even manage HSPDA

I'm not complaining sitting on a 29k currently performance is pretty stunning

Solair · 30-12-2012 6:44pm

You just whack in a few new LTE cards, the wifi infrastructure in the train itself is the expensive bit.

You can't really just hold off on rolling stuff out forever either though as there's always something faster around the corner when it comes to wireless technology.

The main advantage of the WiFi is that it is letting you access a router that's got a decent antenna outside the train!

A USB dongle will never get the same kind of reception in the steel body of the train.

bk · 30-12-2012 8:14pm

Lets be honest, the only reason Irish Rail started rolling out free wifi, was because the private bus companies started rolling it out first and IR had to do the same to remain competitive.

I've been saying for years that all trains needed to have free wifi and power in order to maximise it's few advantages, being able to work and play onboard.

The excuse about wifi becoming redundant showed just how little IR understood technology. Wifi was always set to become the definitive wireless technology in all wireless devices. New wireless technologies, like 4G, etc. can easily be fitted to existing on board wifi as the technology changes while still being backwards compatible with the majority of portable devices.

DubOnHoliday · 30-12-2012 8:21pm

Wifi shouldn't be advertised on southbound darts from Connolly or the Rosslare service as it is unusable.

Solair · 30-12-2012 8:58pm

Well, I suppose had 3G been on a lower frequency i.e. 900Mhz or so, like GSM it might have actually been a way better technology. Instead, it was on a tiny allocation of frequencies stuck up at 2100MHz which resulted in really poor propagation of signals and it was never as good as it was promising to be.

With 4G there are 800MHz and 900MHz allocations which may mean pretty excellent signal propagation characteristics and decent coverage in structures like trains and buildings etc.

I think IE, and many others initially over-estimated how good a 3G UMTS 2100MHz USB dongle might be.

WiFi's only really useful for short-range stuff, but it will remain handy for situations like this for as long as the mobile infrastructure can't penetrate car/coach bodies reliably.

Also, the other reason is that some people switch off 3G while traveling as it eats batteries while WiFi has relatively little power consumption as it's a low-power local signal.

juan.kerr · 31-12-2012 9:56am

goingnowhere wrote: »

Already is

Thanks, I get the DART to work most days but hadn't seen any notices about it. Ill try it when I'm back to work after the Christmas & New Years break.

Run_to_da_hills · 31-12-2012 11:16am

DubOnHoliday wrote: »

Wifi shouldn't be advertised on southbound darts from Connolly or the Rosslare service as it is unusable.

I have being using the USB WIFI stick on the Dart for a number of years, there has always been a few "black spots" with no signal. Between Blackrock and Salt hill, Dunlaoghaire and Sandycove (More so with the extension of the cut and cover) Dalkey and Killiney and of course Bray to Greystones. I am sure any WIFI transceiver would be the same.

Solair · 31-12-2012 6:39pm

Well, it'll have the advantage of having a much higher gain antenna mounted on the train roof rather than a tiny little antenna on your USB stick. That's more likely to connect in areas of marginal coverage.

Run_to_da_hills · 31-12-2012 7:20pm

Solair wrote: »

Well, it'll have the advantage of having a much higher gain antenna mounted on the train roof rather than a tiny little antenna on your USB stick. That's more likely to connect in areas of marginal coverage.

An antenna on a train roof is still going to lose signal going through a blackspot, tunnel or cut and cover.

Victor · 01-01-2013 6:05am

Solair wrote: »

Well, I suppose had 3G been on a lower frequency i.e. 900Mhz or so, like GSM it might have actually been a way better technology. Instead, it was on a tiny allocation of frequencies stuck up at 2100MHz which resulted in really poor propagation of signals and it was never as good as it was promising to be.

With 4G there are 800MHz and 900MHz allocations which may mean pretty excellent signal propagation characteristics and decent coverage in structures like trains and buildings etc.

Surely allocation of exact frequencies is down to the operators?

bk · 01-01-2013 2:37pm

Victor wrote: »

Surely allocation of exact frequencies is down to the operators?

Frequency allocation is set by Comreg, which the operators then bid on and use.

Solair · 01-01-2013 8:08pm

bk wrote: »

Frequency allocation is set by Comreg, which the operators then bid on and use.

Not only that, but the European operators all standardised 3G on UMTS-2100 (2100MHz) You can only really do what everyone else is doing as otherwise you won't have any handsets to use

I think they've realised their error of their ways with 4G which is why we're seeing lower frequency allocations in the same kind of space that 2G occupies.

kc56 · 02-01-2013 12:00pm

Coverage from Heuston to Inchicore can be very poor at times in the 'Gullet'. Doesn't matter if using 3G or WiFi.

murpho999 · 02-01-2013 12:22pm

I also find the service awful.

Also hate having to login every single time I get on a train.

WiFi now on all Intercity Trains.

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