Passengers will be able to connect their computers to the internet via UMTS USB modems, or via the new on-board Wi-Fi system, which ensures high quality continuous connections. The on-board WiFi system is also accessible to smart phones, netbooks and indeed any other WiFi-enabled device.

Telecom Italia is working with RFI, the infrastructure arm of the railways, to install next-generation mobile radio communications infrastructure along all 900 km of the high-speed rail track between Turin and Naples, and equipping all Frecciarossa-branded high-speed  trains with support technology systems (mobile radio communications repeater systems and WiFi cabling).

Worth remebering is that in Italy over 20% of the high-speed rail network (93% of the line between Bologna and Florence) runs through tunnels. Therefore, critical issues were associated with shielding electromagnetic waves in train carriages had to be properly addressed, in order to reliably support 3G/UMTS mobile radio network performance at the trains’ top speeds of 300 km/h .

Telecom Italia and Trenitalia, the operating company of the Italian State Railways,  will begin rolling out the system in April.

By the end of the summer, 30% of the high-speed train fleet will be operational; by the end of the year, all high-speed trains trains will be equipped with the new telecom equipment.

The infrastructure is also open to other radio mobile operators who wish to take part in this venture.

The extensive network of transmitters and the mobile radio communications repeater system will strengthen signals on trains and resolve reception problems along the line also for standard mobile voice calls, especially where trains go through tunnels.

Frecciarossa trains will also be equipped with an on-board server (half of the fleet by the end of the year, and the remainder by summer 2011) so that passengers can access a train portal.

The portal will make it possible to create an “on-train community”, and offer users online access to news items from major newspapers, TV programmes, on-demand films, music and videos, weather, traffic information, games, mobile ticketing, taxi reservations, car hire and other value-added services.

The field trial will also focus on the usage of small cell solutions (such as pico cells) to address “hot spot” and indoor coverage applications, and their related throughput and latency performance.

In parallel, Telecom Italia’s TI Lab and Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs will investigate even more specific and advanced LTE-related topics, through simulations and analysis.

Architectural analyses will be conducted, and unique proof of concepts will be realized.

In country where handset subsidies have been traditionally very low, the retail price of € 22,90 for the new PM1001 GSM handset to be sold by Poste Italiane through its nationwide post offices could still appeal to a lot of people.

The trial, which is being conducted in Turin with technology partner Huawei, uses 14 new LTE radio stations around the centre of town which are perfectly integrated into the existing mobile infrastructure.

These stations provide bandwidth in excess of 140Mit/s for each cell, and can handle three high bandwidth voice/data connections simultaneously.

This trial confirms Telecom Italia’s commitment to a rolling upgrade of its networks in support of next-generation services over landlines and mobile.

Joy is a fully integrated solution that includes a 20/1 Mbps ADSL line (or 10/10 Mpbs for the few lucky ones with a FTTH connection) at home and a free USB modem with 10 hours/month of UMTS mobile traffic included at €30 per month.

With this service Fastweb targets young people and those who do not need a traditional PSTN fixed voice line.

This tender not only include standard mobile voice and data services. It also includes devolopment and management of advanced value added services and development of custom devices to install on board trains.

Some of the basic requirements include 3,000 voice devices, 500 smarthphones/PDAs, 2,000 USB data keys, 2,000 M2M SIMs and 10,500 smartphones/PDAs to be used on trains.

Trafic estimation is about 25 m SMSs per year and 5 Tbyte of data per year.

Morevover, the tender specifically encourage operators to develop and supply on a turn-key basis e new industrial mobile terminal for the GSM-R (875 MHz) network operated by the Italian railways, that currently covers over 17,200 km of railway lines using 1,200 base stations.