Trains to increase free WiFi with 4G upgrades

Dutch national railway NS will start providing 4G internet aboard its trains this year, to improve the quality and availability of existing free internet for its passengers. NS has provided WiFi aboard its trains since 2010 and in stations since 2013. It has previously promised free WiFi on intercity trains through to 2025. The current service has become insufficient to handle passengers' high internet demands, the operator suggests. "The capacity is quickly flooded", NS spokesperson Eric Trinthamer told BNR Digitaal. "We have adopted the fair use policy: Everyone gets the same amount of bandwidth to the internet. But we really need a step further, so in the coming months we will switch to 4G. "NS will switch onto the 4G network shortly, so that the wifi is powered on board", said Trinthammer. Currently the train WiFi service is powered by multiple network sources along train routes, but NS says that this system is too unstable. "We have become a society that wants to have WiFi everywhere and that creates a demand for capacity," explained Trinthammer. NS hopes to finalize its agreements with third party providers in the next few months. At the moment, T-Mobile provides WiFi on the trains and KPN provides wireless internet at stations. NS has not revealed if it will continue working with these companies or make a change.