| Press Releases |
On May 14th, Thalys covering four countries (France, Belgium, Germany and Netherlands) has launched commercially WiFi Internet service on board Thalys trains. At this occasion, Thalys invited the press to test the WiFi at 300 km/h in cooperation with Nokia Siemens Networks, global leader of a consortium also including 21Net and Telenet.
"The implementation of new technologies for our customers’ benefit is one of the key driving forces behind the ‘New Thalys’; This is not merely our response to the expectations of our business customers, who now have the option of dedicating their travel time to work, it is also meeting the needs of our leisure customers for whom a train journey must be both a moment of discovery as well as a special experience!" explains Jean-Michel Dancoisne, CEO of Thalys International.
The provision of continuous broadband connectivity throughout the entire Thalys network, whether in Belgium, France, Germany or the Netherlands is now a commercial reality. Today, already 25% of the Thalys trains have been equipped to be fit for this purpose and by autumn 2008, all Thalys trains will be WiFi enabled. All our customers will therefore benefit from the innovative technology implemented by Nokia Siemens Networks with their 2 partners.
Thalys has selected in September 2007 the consortium of Nokia Siemens Networks, the Belgian broadband cable operator Telenet and 21Net, the supplier of broadband Internet based on satellite connectivity after a deep technical and commercial evaluation. Under the terms of a managed services’ contract, the consortium not only designed an innovative hosted cross-border wireless network including on-board WiFi equipment, supplied and installed all necessary technology, but it also operates and maintains the complete network for Thalys.
Paul Broekhuizen, Head of the Customer Team Railways - West Europe at Nokia Siemens Networks and Head of Consortium indicates: “This comprehensive managed services’ scope brings key benefits for Thalys: a high quality telecommunications service and a fast introduction of the WI-FI offer are assured, meeting quality and safety expectations and reducing risk and investment costs. I would like to thank all the team at Nokia Siemens Networks involved in this innovative project. The next step is of course the implementation of the WiFi system in all trains and the optimization of the coverage.”
Thalys customers were involved in each development stage of the service, responding positively to tests carried out in 2005 as well as to trials conducted since September 2007. Both business and leisure customers reacted well to the service and defined it as “a major technological innovation and the latest example of the quality of the service offered by Thalys.”
Thalys and the Consortium chose to link satellite, UMTS and WiFi technologies to guarantee continuous internet connectivity on board trains travelling across borders at 300 km/hour. The combination of these three Internet access technologies ensures an optimal cover in all the countries served by Thalys, depending on wireless technologies available during the journey.
The satellite connection is utilised most of the time and as a priority to provide Internet connectivity on the train. The high speed bi-directional satellite connectivity operates via a small earth station (parabolic antenna) installed on the roofs of Thalys trains. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) tunnel interface connects the satellite link to the public Internet network at ThalysNet’s Network Operations Centre (NOC) established in the Nokia Siemens Networks premises at Herentals, Belgium. The main mission of the NOC is the real time monitoring of services and equipment on board the Thalys trains. In order to minimise the number of interventions on board the train in case of major equipment failures most of the software interventions can be undertaken remotely from the Network Operation Centre.
During periods when the satellite link is unavailable (for example when the train is in covered areas such as in a station or in long tunnels), the system automatically switches over to WiFi internet connectivity or on to existing UMTS systems, using the Mobile Access Router developed by Nokia Siemens Networks.
The consortium leader Nokia Siemens Networks is responsible for the entire project management. Its task also includes the supply of necessary resources, tools and processes for the design, supply and installation of the wireless network solution, the management of special leased bandwidth for mobile operators along the train routes, the management of the WIFI access points in the Thalys trains to ensure continuous internet connectivity, as well as maintenance and hosting services.
For passengers travelling in Comfort 1, access to the ThalysNet portal (delivered by Garderos) and to the Internet is included in the ticket price, along with other services offered in Comfort 1 like a meal, newspapers, etc.
For passengers travelling in Comfort 2, access to the ThalysNet portal is free but Internet access is chargeable:
- 6.50 euros for 60 minutes connection time. The 60 minutes connection time is calculated from the first connection made and can only be used during the course of one trip;
- 13 euros for unlimited access during the trip.
Did you know?
- Coverage on the Paris-Brussels route is between 97 and 98%.
- Satellite connectivity works because of a parabolic antenna (small earth station) installed on the roof of equipped Thalys trains which links up with the Hispasat 1D satellite located 36,000 km above the Atlantic Ocean.
- The highest numbers of users logged on at the same time during one trip on one train was reached on 7th of March between Paris and Cologne: 74 users utilised the service at the same time.
- Since the beginning of the project in September 2007, almost 12,000 users have logged on to the ThalysNet portal.
- Trains equipped with WiFi access are easily identifiable due to the stickers positioned on windows and doors of the train. 75 metres of stickers are used for each Thalys train offering the service. That amounts to a total of 2 km of stickers for the whole Thalys fleet.
Watch coverage on German national television (German language, streaming video, VLC player recommended):
http://wstreaming.zdf.de/zdf/veryhigh/080615_thalys_nes.asx