New Satellite Services Set to Improve Train Connectivity and Reduce Not-Spots

There is no doubt that the world of WiFi on trains has been transformed recently. The arrival of LEO Satellite connectivity looks set to boost coverage and help remove not-spots along rail routes.

To date, most of the trials and new satellite services have involved SpaceX’s extensive Starlink fleet. However, that is soon to change as new players enter the market.

First amongst the newcomers is set to be Hughes, which announced its “LEO for Rail” solution in March of this year and which will start active testing on trains in the coming months. The Hughes system is designed to improve speed and coverage for train to shore connectivity. It combines a low-profile, rail-certified antenna which is designed to bring Eutelsat’s OneWeb Low Earth Orbit satellite connectivity to passenger and freight rail networks worldwide.

Royce Hernandez, Vice President of Mobility Products at Hughes said of the new service, “For too long, rail connectivity has meant dead zones, dropped signals, and inconsistent performance. Hughes LEO for Rail puts an end to that by combining Eutelsat’s LEO satellite and cellular into a single, resilient network that keeps passengers connected and critical operations running, without interruption.”

The solution reportedly combines three elements: the innovative rail antenna, Eutelsat’s global OneWeb LEO satellite service, and the Hughes worldwide managed network infrastructure that helps deliver low latency for railroads’ private networks.  The terminal will integrate into existing rail connectivity architectures, enabling integrators and operators to deploy resilient broadband connectivity that complements cellular networks.

“LEO satellite connectivity is transforming both the passenger experience and rail operations,” said Filipe De Oliveira, Vice President for Commercial at Eutelsat. “With Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO, we can deliver consistent, high-performance broadband across entire routes, including the rural and cross-border areas that have always been the hardest to serve, and when merged with terrestrial connectivity we deliver built-in resiliency to any critical operation. Together with longstanding partners like Hughes, we are enabling rail operators worldwide to enhance connectivity across both the passenger rail experience and operational applications.”

The service enables ultra-high availability for a wide range of rail applications, providing reliable passenger WiFi on high-speed and long-distance routes, operational monitoring of on-board systems, CCTV, fleet management, and critical safety communications across passenger and freight rail networks. Unlike cellular-only architectures, the Hughes LEO for Rail service enables multi-path connectivity strategies that improve network availability while reducing operational risk.

Hughes and Eutelsat are actively working with major rail integrators, rail operators, and ecosystem partners globally on trial and production deployments in preparation for certification, which they anticipate will come later this year.

The use of LEO Satellites in the rail sector received a major boost last month when the UK government announced a £57 million investment in train to shore satellite services. The new technology will be introduced on most main line services in Britain. This follows pilot schemes using LEO satellite connectivity involving LNER, South Western Railway and Great Western Railway companies.

The need for new connectivity services to complement the current reliance on cellular signals for train WiFi was underlined last week by UK communications watchdog, Ofcom, which released some damming data on train connectivity. In its recently published report, the regulator claimed that mobile performance was “poor” on between 58% and 83% of tests carried out on trains in Britain, depending on which mobile network was being scrutinised. In what it says is the most comprehensive such study to date, Ofcom measured mobile performance on 24 segments of key railway lines across mainland Britain.

In a masterful piece of under-statement, Mobile UK, which represents the major phone providers, admitted there are "unique structural and capacity challenges" to keeping good train signals. The arrival of more LEO Satellite services looks set to help the whole sector.