WiFi Internet Access and Wireless Broadband Coming to Bay Area Public Transit

Passengers on the Capitol Corridor train line may soon be enjoying high speed WiFi Internet access during their ride from north of Sacramento to San Jose. The proposed service will allow travelers to quickly browse the Web, check e-mail, and make online phone calls on this popular business commuter’s line.

WiFi Internet Access and Public Transportation

Train officials are already starting the ball rolling on what could be the largest wireless Internet access deployment on a public transit system in the United States. The Joint Power Authority, managed by Bay Area Rapid Transit, has requested information that will lead to the selection of up to three vendors to conduct limited trials of the service by early July.

This service will provide download speeds of up to 750 Kbps and an additional 1.5 Mbps for surveillance, maintenance, and other onboard train applications. The principal planner of the project, Jim Allison, comments that the technology required to implement the service is already in existence, with satellite, cellular, and wireless technologies all top contenders. Experts predict, however, that WiMAX will play an important role in combination with other technologies while implementing the wireless high speed Internet access.

WiMAX is very similar to WiFi technology, but it only recently received industry certification and enjoys a much longer reach than WiFi wireless Internet. One predicted set up is adding WiMAX antennas along the right of way that connects to the Internet via fiber-optic cabling. WiMAX receivers on the trains would then translate the signal into WiFi on the train cars themselves. 

Demand for Wireless Internet Access on Trains

Although the technology is clearly available, skeptics of the program are worried about whether the demand for the service is there. Trains are already drastically underused in California and there may not be enough passengers to generate the needed revenue to make the service worthwhile. The vendors will be operating the service independently, and no pricing plans have yet been set.

In particular, Andrew Seybold, a technology analyst, has been vocal about potential funding problems with the new service. Seybold notes that it will cost more than $15 million just to install fiber-optic cabling along the Capitol Corridor line and tens of thousands of dollars in maintenance. Since train agencies are not able or willing to underwrite the costs, Seybold believes it is unlikely that Internet service providers will be able to make money or even break even on the deal.

Officials however, disagree with Seybold’s assessment. Both the Capitol Corridor and the Altmont Commuter line have been testing onboard wireless Internet access using a slower, WiFi technology since 2003 with great success. Additionally, 56% of Capitol Corridors 1.25 million riders are business travelers and 71% of those travelers carry a laptop with them on the ride.