On July 1st, the first PKP Intercity train (EIC Beskidy) with free Internet access departed from Warsaw to Katowice and Bielsko-Biała. The “T-Mobile HotSpot” service was provided by T-Mobile Polska, one of the largest mobile operators in Poland. The service will be available on more trains in July.
In January of this year, PKP Intercity and T-Mobile Polska signed an agreement that will provide passengers with WiFi Internet access, and in the future, also movies, TV series, and games on board trains. This is an innovative project, not only on a Polish scale but also across Europe.
First stage completed
In the first stage of the project, 30 carriages were equipped with modems, as well as external and internal antennas, supplied by T-Mobile’s partner, Nomad Digital, a global leader in the industry.
– Offering WiFi to train passengers confirms the highest quality of our network, both in cities and in sparsely populated areas through which trains often travel. The T-Mobile Hot Spot service is a great convenience for customers, but also an excellent advertisement for the T-Mobile network among customers of other operators – says Igor Matejov, member of the T-Mobile management board, Director of the Business Market.
First train on the route
The first train set with the service launched, the Express InterCity Beskidy, departed on July 1st via Katowice to Bielsko-Biała.
– Trains with WiFi will appear on the most popular routes. We are pleased that during their holiday travels, our customers will be able to spend their time pleasantly by surfing the web freely – emphasizes Marcin Celejewski, CEO of PKP Intercity.
How does it work?
Using the service is simple – all you need is your own device (e.g., phone, laptop, tablet) and one click to connect to the available network. In the initial period of use, WiFi will be free. The decision regarding the final form of the service will be made at the end of 2014 based on the results of technical tests.
– We have started installations in subsequent carriages, and soon more trains with WiFi will be able to hit the tracks. At the same time, we will monitor the operation of the service, the achieved Internet access speeds, and the demand for individual services. Based on these analyses, we will optimize the rules of the service so that all PKP Intercity passengers can use the service comfortably – adds Igor Matejov.