This article describes my recent experience with VIA Rail Canada’s mobile internet service while traveling from Toronto to Montreal. These types of services have become more and more common over the past few years. VIA has started construction. After they launched their first mobile internet service in 2006 and then updated it in 2010 and 2011.

Via Rail Canada was one of the first rail companies in the world to offer mobile internet services to its passengers in 2006. It offers services on 42 trains along the Central Canadian Corridor between Windsor Ontario and Quebec,

which is approximately 700 miles long. The service originally used a combination of satellite communications and a pair of 2G mobile phone connections. In 2010, the service was updated to use a pair of 3G mobile phone connections. Completely abandon satellite communications. According to the accounts I found on the internet, blogs and Twitter, the service was satisfactory.

A complete forklift upgrade was carried out during 2011 and 2012. The new service is installed on a fleet of 42 trains and consists of 6 aggregate HSPA + mobile communications, an onboard server and a console at the bus passengers’ hotspot (B, G), and an overlapping wireless N network connects all coaches.

VIA VIA is promoting this service through its campaign

 “The Human Path to Travel”; Highlight this service as a productive use of commuting time or leisure, such as social media, booking events at a destination, finding information on what to do when you arrive at your destination, or simply reading newspapers on the Internet or surfing the Internet.

I have had the opportunity to travel many times on the VIA Rail for business or pleasure, and have always been impressed with the overall performance of the mobile internet service; which is currently offered free of charge. After connecting the device to a Wi-Fi access point, you are prompted to select the languages ​​of the service; English or French. Then you must accept some terms and conditions; Which is displayed on the landing page of the services provided by VIA Rail. From there, you can surf the Internet.

I was able to work with files using a VPN connection to my office servers; 

Edit and update text documents, spreadsheets and presentations. Accessing webmail systems like Gmail is also very easy. Web browsing is also very fast. I also made free access to streaming music services like Accuradio and Tunein. I browsed and updated my online photo albums in Picasa without any problem. I have also done some online shopping and online banking. I’ve even seen passengers using Skype video calls.

 But streaming video is processed and lost, but in this environment, sites like YouTube are blocked for performance reasons, to save bandwidth and maintain a good user experience. This is understandable in a general mobile environment where available mobile network bandwidth is a limiting factor. But you can still access video news media sites like major daily newspapers like CNN or CBC. But as I said, videos can be successful and fun.

So, as the user experience evolves, this service is very good to use for free. How long will it be free? As you might guess, providing this service can be costly. According to VIA estimates, more than 20,000 travelers use this service, and the average traffic exceeds 1 terabyte per week. The reviews on Twitter and Facebook are generally positive and confirm my personal experience.

As with any mobile network,

 there are several areas where performance can drop. There is one region on the shores of Lake Ontario where performance ranges from very good to good or fair. But at 100 mph, these areas are expanding rapidly and productivity is increasing very quickly. To VIA’s credit, they reference these famous areas in their service information and on the map posted on their website and in the passenger magazine. Technical support is also available by phone and text message.

Most of the trains

 I have traveled are 3 or 4 carriages in length, and I estimate that about half of the passengers use this service. It can be from 80 to 100 users connected to the whole train. I have taken several measurements with tools like cbn speedtest. This gives you an idea of ​​the user experience. My average download speed is around 2.75 Mbps, with peaks of 5 Mbps and up. The average download speed is around 1 Mbps and the peak is 3 Mbps.