Better Wi-Fi For NEC

Amtrak is taking a new approach to solve problems with its widely mocked Wi-Fi service. The railroad service is soliciting bids for a dedicated trackside wireless broadband network that will backhaul Wi-Fi service for Amtrak's Acela Fleet, the high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) between Washington, D.C., and Boston.

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http://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/story/amtrak-will-ditch-cellular-backhaul-its-upgraded-wi-fi-service/2014-06-01

jb

The WiFi capacity on the NEC could stand improvement, no question on that. I was on a NE Regional yesterday going from Providence to WAS. The WiFi worked ok north of NYP, although it started to get sluggish south of NHV as more people got on the train. Coming out of NYP with a nearly full Regional, the WiFi response on my iPad slowed to a crawl and repeatedly timed out. I gave up and switched to 3G/4G. WiFi response was better south of BAL as there were fewer passengers.

I wonder what the ballpark cost estimate is for a dedicated trackside system for the entire 457 mile length of the NEC? What are the prospects for recovering some of the costs by selling some of the WiFi bandwidth capacity to businesses along the NEC?