News

Perth Trials WiFi on Two Train Lines

(17 Jan 2019, BWCS Staff)

The regional government for Western Australia has taken the first tentative steps towards putting free WiFi on all public transport across the state. From this week two trains running on the Mandurah and Joondalup Lines in and out of Perth will offer on-board passenger WiFi.

The pilot scheme follows an announcement last August by WA transport minister Rita Saffioti. Speaking at the time, Saffioti said that this is “Something the government is keen to trial to see if we can further improve the passenger experience.” Following the trial, usage and feedback will determine whether free WiFi will be continued and rolled out across the network.

The two commuter lines are a mixture of rail and light rail and carry a total of 37 million passengers each year. The Mandurah line runs for 70km between the state capital and Western Australia’s second city and carries some 20 million passengers annually. It was officially opened in December 2007. The Joondalup line, opened in 1999, runs some 40km north from Perth to Butler and carries around 17 million passengers every year.

The service will be provided by Australian telecoms giant Optus, with the contract arrangement allowing the trial to proceed with no direct costs to the state government. Each passenger will be able to use up to 150 megabytes of data in a 24 hour period.

Australia is one of the small band of countries around the world whose governments are willing to offer public money to help boost WiFi on train services. In 2017, Malcolm Turnbull’s Canberra-based administration announced plans to pour AU$12 million (US$9.85 million) into adding WiFi to trains and improving mobile cellular coverage along rail tracks in New South Wales.

BWCS is constantly monitoring developments in the WiFi on Trains sector within each national market. For more information about how to access our international database of interviews and market developments, please contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com .

On-board WiFi, trackside networks, the growing market for passenger WiFi services and on-board entertainment will be the main subjects of BWCS’s WiFi on Trains Conference 2019 on the 4th and 5th of June.

For more information on the conference please see www.Traincomms2019.com or contact Ross.Parsons@BWCS.com .

The 2019 conference (www.Traincomms2019.com ) is sponsored by Icomera, Nomad Digital, Fluidmesh, RADWIN and BAI Communications.

 



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