Wi-Fi to ride California passenger rails

Computerworld - The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) plans to test onboard high-speed wireless service this fall on its popular Capitol Corridor intercity train route linking San Jose and Santa Clara in Silicon Valley with Oakland and Auburn, near the state capital of Sacramento.
David Anderson, a Caltrans spokesman, said the three-month test will start in September on the Capitol Corridor route, which he described as "one of the most successful [passenger] train lines in America." Ridership on the line from July 2002 to July 2003 totaled 1.13 million passengers, a 6.1% increase from the previous year, Anderson said.
Caltrans funds the operation of the trains, which are run by Amtrak as part of its national passenger rail system. The Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority (CCJPA) -- composed of representatives of the eight counties along the train route -- is responsible for train service management.
Jim Allison, a senior transportation planner at the CCJPA, said the agency decided to conduct the Wi-Fi test in response to demand from "tech-savvy" riders. The decision also fits in with the Caltrans philosophy to "always look for ways to provide better service," he said.
Allison said that PointShot Wireless, an Ottawa-based start-up focused on providing Wi-Fi service in mobile markets, will provide the equipment for the Capitol Corridor test. PointShot is also providing the onboard hardware for a four-month test of Wi-Fi service that began last month on trains operated by Via Rail Canada in the Montreal-Toronto corridor (see story).
Allison said PointShot will use the same type of technology in California to transmit signals to and from the Capitol Corridor trains: a satellite-delivered broadband downlink to an onboard Wi-Fi access point and a lower-speed return link over a terrestrial cellular network. PointShot officials didn't return phone calls from Computerworld for comment.
The CCJPA intends to install Wi-Fi hardware in just one of the two-level cars used on the Capitol Corridors routes, Allison said, with that car cycling throughout all the stations in the system. The Capitol Corridor offers 12 round trips between Oakland and Auburn, with four of those round trips continuing on to San Jose from Oakland.
PointShot is still developing pricing models for the Wi-Fi service, Allison said, adding that for a portion of the test the service will be free. The CCJPA does, however, plan to use the test to evaluate customer response and different pricing models.
Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group in Ashland, Mass., said pricing will be key to rider acceptance, with many high-speed wireless services today priced"too high" to attract many users. Mathias said he believes a $30 a month price point for unlimited access is needed to attract a large pool of wireless data users.