UK to Spend £57 Million on Satellite Wi-Fi for 1,400 Trains
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 30
UK to Spend £57 Million on Satellite Wi-Fi for 1,400 Trains
2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 30
£57 million will be spent over five years to equip 1,400 trains on mainline nationalised services with low-earth-orbit satellite links, replacing reliance on mobile networks for onboard internet.
The Department for Transport aims to lift wi-fi availability from 50-60% to at least 90% and increase speeds by five- to 10-fold, with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander expected to formally unveil the plan this summer.
The upgrade follows trials with LNER, South Western Railway, Great Western Railway and services in Scotland, after current 4G and 5G-based systems repeatedly dropped out on routes, especially in tunnels and weak-signal areas.
Ookla ranked UK onboard train wi-fi 16th out of 18 major European and Asian countries in 2025, with average speeds of 1.09 Mbps versus 64.58 Mbps in Sweden and 29.79 Mbps in Switzerland.
Will a £57M satellite investment finally fix Britain's broken train Wi-Fi, or just increase passenger ticket prices?
How will this satellite revolution transform the daily commute into a productive mobile workspace for thousands of passengers?