T-Mobile and Virgin Trains have 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 download speeds, customer service, easy start up and use.
