Amtrak seeks to upgrade Wi-Fi on Northeast Corridor

Amtrak is soliciting bids for a proof-of-concept project to upgrade its on-board Wi-Fi service in the Northeast Corridor (NEC).

Amtrak has a particular interest in constructing a dedicated, wireless, trackside network that would provide a high-capacity, broadband-speed Internet connection between Washington, D.C., and Boston, Amtrak officials said in a press release.

A wireless trackside network would provide passengers a true broadband experience, close existing coverage gaps along the NEC, and allow Amtrak to drop current restrictions on streaming media and large file downloads, they said.

"We know that our customers want a consistently reliable and fast on-board Wi-Fi experience — something we cannot guarantee today on our busiest trains when hundreds of customers want to go online at the same time — and we want to make that possible," said Amtrak Chief Marketing and Sales Officer Matt Hardison.

The project's goal is to increase available bandwidth per train from a current 10 megabits per second (Mbps) to a minimum of 25 Mbps. Results of the test project will be used to determine whether it is technically and financially feasible to construct such a network along the entire 457-mile NEC, Amtrak officials said.