SNCF Latest to Trial Satellite to Train Services

France is set to be the latest country to trial satellite-delivered broadband to trains. Government-owned SNCF will launch a tender aimed at adding satellite internet to its trains. The move follows several other nations trialling satellite services in a bid to eliminate “not-spots” along the tracks and provide more consistent onboard connectivity.

SNCF confirmed to Reuters press service at the weekend that it plans to employ an "innovative approach to strengthen connectivity and resilience" by combining terrestrial networks with low Earth-orbit satellite solutions.

The main aim of the trial is to try to ensure a consistent and continuous service for all trains running across the sprawling French rail network. As with other recent trials in Scotland, Italy and Lithuania, the pilot scheme will combine cellular connectivity with satellite to ensure dead zones are eliminated and a fast, stable online connection can be maintained across the entire route.

Brightline in the USA became the first train company to deploy this service commercially when it launched with Starlink back in 2023.

The full programme for this year’s Traincomms Conference is available here: https://www.traincomms.com/#content2b

The main contenders for the French tender are thought to be France-based Eutelsat and the ubiquitous Elon Musk-backed SpaceX satellite service - Starlink. It is understood that Eutelsat will bid along with its terrestrial partner Orange. The Starlink rival also has experience of running train-based connectivity trials in the UK and Kazakhstan.

OneWeb, Eutelsat’s satellite service claims over 600 LEO satellites providing internet access in outlying areas. For its part, Elon Musk’s company currently boasts a constellation of several thousand satellites orbiting Earth at approximately 550km which it says can deliver connection speeds of up to 220Mbps and latency of around ~40 ms.

Italy recently became the latest country to trial satellite to train services when Ferrovie dello Stato launched a two-week trial on the high-speed Roma-Milan route last month. The Italian pilot scheme is said to involve two providers, one of which is Starlink.

LEO satellite-delivered broadband services to trains, onboard WiFi and trackside communications systems and will feature heavily at this year’s Traincomms Conference in London (www.Traincomms.com ).

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The full programme for this year’s Traincomms Conference is available here: https://www.traincomms.com/#content2b