Amtrak Says Upgrades Should Help Awful Wi-Fi Acela Wi-Fi Getting Boost to LTE/4G Amtrak has been offering Wi-Fi on board some of their trains now for several years (specifically their DC To Boston Acela route), and now claims that a system upgrade will deal with some of the significant problems that plague the system. According to an Amtrak press statement (pdf), they'll soon be upgrading their cellular-powered train Wi-Fi to LTE connectivity. "Implementation has already begun on Acela Express and is currently undergoing stabilization and optimization activities," says the company. Given the overloaded use of the mobile signal this may not be enough to really improve things, and given the heavy volume of personal LTE devices it may not matter much either way.
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  LinklistPremium
join:2002-03-03
Longport, NJ
kudos:5 |  Upgrades will do nothing to improve train WiFi
»www.theatlanticwire.com/technolo···i/60887/
And the writer is correct in all his criticisms.
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A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasury. | |
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 ·Charter
| Re: Upgrades will do nothing to improve train WiFi No, not really. If congestion is the issue lte will help, as lte uses the same signal more efficiently. Also, once Verizon finishes their lte upgrade things will work better too.
I've been in moving vehicles, lte works just fine (Verizon). If this doesn't fix it then the problem is Amtrak built a poor wireless network. | |
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 IowaCowboyWant to go back to IowaPremium
join:2010-10-16
Springfield, MA | I use my mobile hotspot I use my VZW mobile hotspot when using my laptop on the train or on the go. There is no way my gadgets are going to touch a public hotspot as I value the money in my bank accounts (as public Wi-Fi has serious security issues). | |
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| said by IowaCowboy:There is no way my gadgets are going to touch a public hotspot as I value the money in my bank accounts (as public Wi-Fi has serious security issues).
That's what SSL is for.
If you don't trust encryption then I sure as hell hope you aren't using a cable connection at home, because your downstream traffic is going into your neighbors house by virtue of the way DOCSIS works.  | |
| | | | | Re: I use my mobile hotspot He uses Comcast And by the way the Internet is designed, anyone anywhere can obtain your information. Regardless if its "shared" on cable or on "dedicated" DSL. | |
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| Re: I use my mobile hotspot said by TBusiness:And by the way the Internet is designed, anyone anywhere can obtain your information. Regardless if its "shared" on cable or on "dedicated" DSL.
For sure, unencrypted information is vulnerable regardless of the connection you use. So you either trust encryption or you conduct all of your banking in person at the teller line, and all of your shopping in person with cash.
I only made the analogy with DOCSIS because it does operate like wi-fi, at least with regards to the downstream. Unless the provider uses BPI (Time Warner doesn't around these parts) every unencrypted packet is potentially exposed to hundreds of people, just like a public wi-fi network. | |
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BiggA
join:2005-11-23
EARTH | Last summer It was working fine running over AT&T's LTE North/East of New Haven up towards Boston. | |
| | | How are they offerring LTE?? Will they be offering personal hotspots or USB/mini-pci-e adapters? Or are they selling re-chargeable SIM cards or pay as you go plans for tablet use?
Or is it just an "antenna" amplifier that we connect w/ our own LTE plans?
Or is it just a LTE to wi-fi bridge network free for passengers?
Article doesn't make it clear | |
| | | | Re: How are they offerring LTE?? LTE/4G to wifi. | |
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 RR ConductorNWP RR Inc.,serving NW CAPremium
join:2002-04-02
Redwood Valley, CA
kudos:1 | They have WiFi on a LOT more trains than that! They have WiFi on a LOT more trains than that Karl!!
»www.amtrak.com/journey-with-wi-f···ormation
This official Wi-Fi network is available in the following locations:
Trains
Acela Express
Amtrak Cascades
Capitol Corridor
Carolinian
Downeaster
Empire Service
Ethan Allen Express
Keystone
Lincoln Service (select trains)
New Haven - Springfield Shuttle
Northeast Regional's
Pacific Surfliner's
San Joaquin's
Vermonter
Stations
Baltimore, MD - Penn Station
Boston, MA - South Station - available inside ClubAcela only
Lorton, VA
New York, NY - Penn Station - available in the gate areas and inside ClubAcela
Philadelphia, PA - 30th Street Station - available in the gate areas and inside ClubAcela
Providence, RI
Sanford, FL
Washington, DC - Union Station - available in the gate areas and inside ClubAcela
Westwood, MA - Route 128
Wilmington, DE - Wilmington Station
Trains with Wi-Fi in Select Cars Only
In the following trains, look for cars which contain hot spot stickers in the windows; cars without these stickers do not offer Wi-Fi access.
Adirondack - not available in Canada
Coast Starlight - only available in the Pacific Parlour Car, accessible only to Sleeping Car passengers but not available within the Sleeping Cars themselves
Maple Leaf - not available in Canada
Palmetto
Pennsylvanian
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