Wi-Fi For Passenger Rail

Wi-Fi for Passenger RailJim Baker

Muniwireless MeetUp, June 29th 2010Hosted by

About the presenter

‣ Jim Baker, Managing Partner @ Xenventure

‣ Market Strategy, Human Capital, Private Equity

‣ Background in wireless & video streaming technology

‣ Chief Marketing Officer @ Icomera until June 2010

‣ Founder & CEO @ Moovera, designer of cellular gateways

‣ Founder & CEO @ Telabria, pre-WiMAX ISP in the UK

‣ VP Services @ Media 100, Inc (NASDAQ:MDEA)

‣ Columnist/commentator for Muniwireless, MassTransit.com

‣ Member, Joint Council for Transit Wireless Communications

[email protected]

Twitter@jnb65

LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/in/jnb65

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jnb65

http://www.linkedin.com/in/jnb65

Rail Transport – Leading Markets

#1Western Europe

#2NAFTA

#3Asia/Pacific

APAC to surpass NAFTA by 2016

Mass Transit – Facts & Figures

‣ Rail and Bus passenger transport is a growing sector

‣ Ridership in the US has grown 32% since 1995

‣ 34 million trips each day, >175,000 vehicles in service

‣ $6.9 billion committed to equip new transport projects

‣ $8 billion for passenger intercity rail projects

‣ Congressionally-mandated rail safety measures by 2015

‣ Passenger expectation for always-on connectivity

‣ Operator demand for ‘connected’ fleet is increasing

Application-Driven Demand

Moving from Narrowband to Broadband

‣ Bandwidth-intensive applications driving move to broadband‣ Aggregation & seamless switching between multiple networks‣ Striving for always-on connectivity

Anatomy of the Connected Train

WAN Antenna Main + GPS

WAN Antenna (Diversity)

Train Power Supply

Wi-Fi HotspotAntenna

Protected PSU

Car BridgeAntenna

Train Power Supply


Brain CarPassengerCar

PoESwitch

2.4GHz Access Point

5GHz Access Point

Master EBA

GPS

WiMAX

EV-D

O

HSPA

Ethernet

Cellular Gateway

Antenna Multiplexerand AmplicationDual Mode WLAN

2.4GHzAP

5GHzClient

Slave EBA

Prot

ecte

d PS

U

‣ Cellular Gateway – manages multiple network connections‣ Antenna Array – amplification and multiplexing‣ Bridging Network – connects carriages together, wired or wireless‣ Ethernet Network – connects on-board systems‣ Wi-Fi Network – connects passengers and staff

Anatomy of the Connected Train

WAN Antenna Main + GPS

WAN Antenna (Diversity)

Train Power Supply


Protected PSU

Car BridgeAntenna

Train Power Supply


Brain CarPassengerCar

PoESwitch

2.4GHz Access Point

5GHz Access Point

Master EBA

GPS

WiMAX

EV-D

O

HSPA

Ethernet

Cellular Gateway

Antenna Multiplexerand AmplicationDual Mode WLAN

2.4GHzAP

5GHzClient

Slave EBA

Prot

ecte

d PS

U

Bandwidth needed by trains, 2018

11%89%

OperationalInternet Access and Infotainment

Source: BWCS, May 2010

‣ Bandwidth demand by 2018 will be huge

‣ Priority for meeting demand is in rural areas where backhaul networks are scarce and/or lack adequate provisioning

Evolution to IP-based Networks

Clearwire & Sprint boost M2M apps

Case Study – Amtrak Acela

‣ Solution designed by Nomad Rail and GBS‣ Four concurrent 3G carriers; aggregation/switching‣ 3-3.5Mbps DL available for FREE passenger Wi-Fi‣ 500Kbps – 1Mbps UL‣ Total aggregate throughput of up to 7Mbps observed‣ Typically 200ms latency‣ WiMAX on roadmap for service enhancement

802.11n used by Nomadfor inter-car links

on some deployments


‣ Active marketing following launch‣ Seat back card with instructions


‣ Clarity regarding on-train connectivity‣ Published coverage maps





‣ Portal splash page with branding




‣ Portal splash page with branding

‣ Portal landing page with content

Very positive response from customers with 35% uptake

Acela – Challenges & Lessons Learned

Challenges Pre-Launch

!  Restricted to wireless car-to-car and intra-car links

!  Limited external mounting space for antennas

!  Availability of trains not guaranteed

!  Long equipment lead times

Challenges Post-Launch

!  Spotty cellular coverage in rural areas and tunnels

!  Too many customers logging in following boarding process

!  Striking the right content filtering balance between too restrictive and too loose

!  Availability of sufficient data to correlate user experience with actual system performance

Lessons Learned

!  Educate and deploy on-board staff to support the launch

!  Minimize content filtering to the extent possible

!  Augment available backhaul by using Wi-Fi at the stations

!  Block streaming video and large file downloads to conserve bandwidth

!  Work with cellular providers during design and test phases to better understand connectivity issues

!  FREE service is appreciated, but performance is degraded

!  Long project development lead-times means upgrades may be required; plan and budget for it

Western Europe – Example Metrics

‣ 52 electric Pendolino trains, 9 carriages per train set

‣ 21 Super Voyager trains, 4-5 carriages

‣ Carries 70,000 passengers per day

‣ London to Scotland, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham

‣ Wi-Fi free to First Class, standard T-Mobile rates to Standard

‣ Over 100,000 sessions per month, 80/20 First Class vs Standard

‣ Average session length 70-80 minutes

‣ Average traffic 18-20MB per session

‣ Future network use for CCTV, OTMR, infotainment


‣ State-owned railway in Sweden

‣ Conducts 90% of passenger rail service in the country

‣ Carries 110,000 passengers per day

‣ Wi-Fi free to First Class, Pay-Per-Use in Standard

‣ Over 80,000 users per month

‣ Average session length 90 minutes

‣ Average traffic 39MB per user

‣ Move to 4TB on-train media servers, in-station syncing


‣ Fleet of 26 trains serving Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam & Cologne

‣ 600,000 users since launch in October 2008

‣ Uses combination of two-way satellite and cellular

‣ New €40m project with NTV Italy launches in September 2011

‣ 25 new Alstom trains expected to serve 10m customers/year

‣ Running from Salerno to Venice and Turin

‣ Wi-Fi and systems communications pre-installed at factory

India – Internet for Trains

‣ Metrics for mobile phone use dwarf the West

‣ Installed base of over 600,000,000 users

‣ Growing by 20 million per month

‣ Aging GSM networks unsuitable for data

‣ Mobile Internet usage less than 12 million in 2009

‣ 3G and WiMAX auctions ended in 2010

‣ Wireless broadband coming in 2011

‣ Indian Ministry of Railways is world’s largest operator

‣ 14,000 trains per day

‣ Target to install Wi-Fi on short-haul trains by end 2011

Vendor Opportunities

‣ Intelligent Cellular Gateways• Aggregate and switch between different networks

• Industrial grade, ruggedized and compliant

• Technology-agnostic for plug and play

‣ Mesh Access Points• Trackside/Platform and On-Train/Inter-Carriage networks

• Future inclusion of cellular/M2M modules

‣ Advertising Capability for Revenue Generation‣ Within Wi-Fi hotspot and PIS displays

Application Opportunities

Source: Nokia Siemens Networks

$10 billion cost by 2015

Challenges

‣ Make passengers passionate about using mass transit

• Enhance perceived value with useful amenities

‣ Availability of suitable spectrum in sufficient bandwidth

‣ Unification of standards for global use

• Roadmap to LTE-R using GSM-R as model

• Collaboration with leading telcoms suppliers e.g. Alcatel Lucent

• Liaison between vendors and transit operators

‣ Education throughout the value chain

• Create blueprint for transit industry with ‘best practice’ guide

• Maintain constant dialog between key stakeholders

Thank you.

Wi-Fi For Passenger Rail

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