SatcoDX - TELE-satellite International Magazine

SATELLITE RECEPTION
Mobile Satellite Reception
Satellite Reception in a Train
In the 03/2008 issue we introduced to you the company SeaTel, a provider
of mobile satellite reception systems for ships. In that report we also
mentioned that SeaTel was in the process of expanding into a new business
area by developing mobile satellite reception systems for trains. And just
recently, that milestone was reached: the first high-speed trains with satellite
reception are now running on the rails!
It has to do with Thalys. This company
operates 26 high-speed trains that travel
between the cities of Paris, Brussels,
Amsterdam and Cologne. The new SeaTel
system has been installed in 15 of these
trains, and by the end of the year the
remaining trains should also be equipped
for Internet reception via satellite.
We asked Philip Haines, responsible for
the technical development of this system
with the company 21net, what is being
offered. He explained, “We are receiving
the Internet service from the Belgian
broadband provider Telenet in the 12.5 to
12.75 GHz frequency range.” It is an intelligent
technology that is being installed;
21net technicians at work installing the SeaTel satellite antenna for the mobile reception of HISPASAT.
Since the Thalys high-speed trains don’t travel much up or down any hills, the antenna itself doesn’t
require much in the way of elevation adjustments. This results in a lower wind load thanks to the flatter
radom.
it was developed jointly with Nokia Siemens
Network. This system automatically
switches over to GPRS/GSM operation when
the train enters a tunnel or when it stops at
a station that is covered with a roof.
78 TELE-satellite & Broadband — 10-11/2008 — www.TELE-satellite.com
While the train is underway and as long as
there is a clear line-of-sight view to HISPA-
SAT, the goal is to provide “2 MBit/s download
speed and 512 KBit/s upload speed
for each train”, explains Philip Haines, and
then continues, “We are using an intelligent
Philip Haines speaking with
TELE-satellite. He is the
Technical Manager at 21net.
bandwidth distribution between the trains
that statistically are underway only 40% of
the time.”
In the train itself, the passengers access
the Internet via WiFi Hotspots. This certainly
is a new experience: surfing the
Internet in a high-speed Thalys train travelling
at 300 kph (188 MPH)!
Finished! The radom is placed on top of
the antenna. Now the system is not only
protected from the weather but also from
the enormous 300 kph (188 MPH) wind
load.