Trivia: Significant gaps in mobile coverage (and wifi) on the rail network.

[Gaby X]

Throughout my regular travels from Poole to Southampton and back, one thing I have gained knowledge of is the pattern in which mobile data cuts out (FYI my provider is Tesco). The biggest gap with no coverage whatsoever for me is between the tunnel just west of Hinton Admiral and a point just east of Ashurst. On a fast train, I have no access to the internet* on this portion apart from a short stint at Brockenhurst when the train stops there. On semi-fast and stopping trains I would also get a tiny bit of internet connection at New Milton.

The cutting between Parkstone & Branksome and Branksome viaduct & Bournemouth can also be temperamental. While sometimes I have been able to get a signal at these locations, usually the data is the slower 3G rather than 4G.

What other significant mobile network gaps are there on the National rail network? Also including entire internet gaps if the train has poor wifi as well.

* I don’t use SWR’s wifi as it is so slow and intermittent, that on average it’s much quicker to use mobile data.

I've been travelling from Poole to Waterloo for a while now and I've been with different network providers.

Three is the network I've been with the most, over 7 years. I've eventually gave up as they just failed to deliver for what I was paying for. My phone was showing 5G but no internet connection or very bad speeds on 5G...

Vodafone - best network for me. After Three, I've tried Vodafone and it was by far the best connection I've had while commuting. I was actually able to stream live football games. Though, I was having to pay £40 per month pay as you go sim, as I don't want a contract anymore. So I've heard, as in this thread EE is better. So I moved to try it.

EE - it is not as they say. Since I moved to EE only problems. Either network down, I could make calls, or bad reception. Seem that I should be on 5G but not so good speed. Today, in Waterloo station, even if I had 5G reception no Internet connection...really, the same bad experience as with Three.

From my experience, commuting from Poole to Waterloo, Vodafone is by far the one that has the most coverage. I got a Note 20 Ultra 5G, so my phone is capable but Three and EE failed to deliver for me.

Regarding what you mentioned earlier, while going through Ashurst and really the New Forest area, no network has good coverage. I can say as I've tried different networks and no real luck there. I've also checked the network coverage website and, if you follow the train track on the map you can see that all networks fail to deliver in New Forest.

Now, I will move back to Vodafone, as for me, it was the best network to have while commuting from Poole to London. Also, not sure if true, the lady that sold me the sim first time actually mentioned that Vodafone recently improved their reception while travelling by train to London.

Hope this helps!

Adrian S

 

[jon0844]

The South West is a Vodafone controlled area (as part of the Vodafone/O2 sharing agreement) although the networks are gradually unwinding to go their own way.

With Vodafone having already turned some 3G off as of last night, I can see that when all of it is turned off and reused for 5G, there's going to be another big uplift.

EE is having a number of problems right now, from interoperability issues with adjacent sites following the replacement of Huawei kit, and other issues with 4G and Wi-Fi calling.

If our Government hadn't been taken in by Donald Trump's fight with China and wanting to attack Huawei, EE and others could have kept the kit it had and concentrated on new sites, not changing existing ones. I can't imagine how much further ahead they'd have been by now. And that's not even considering the huge cost, which subscribers are obviously paying for.

 

[Peter0124]

I am surprisingly getting full 4G signal in the HS1 tunnels, despite them being about 50 metres below London

 

[stuving]

Why the surprise? This is from highspeed1's five year plan in 2019 (for their CP3, which is 2020-2025):

4.8.2. 4G network
Currently there is no public mobile coverage in the tunnel sections of the HS1 route; in the open sections of the route, coverage is via the general macro layer mobile signal available from mobile network operators (MNOs). Wi-fi systems are installed at St Pancras International and Stratford International stations.
To improve customer experience, we are installing a 4G system in the HS1 tunnels and at St Pancras International and Stratford International stations. The objective is to create a system that interfaces with the existing macro layer signal coverage to provide 4G connectivity throughout the HS1 route and stations. The system will be designed to be direct to handset but with secondary connectivity to onboard train wi-fi systems.
We have chosen EE to lead the design, implementation and ongoing management of the 4G system. EE accounts for the highest percentage of mobile device services within the UK and has been selected by the Home Office to deploy the Emergency Services Network (ESN) services for a geographical area of the UK that incorporates the HS1 route. The system is designed to be multi-operator capable. EE will fund the installation and other MNOs can pay a share of the costs to join the scheme.
The 4G system is planned to be installed in the HS1 tunnels by the end of 2019 and the stations in Spring 2020. The system will go live in early 2020.

Due to the obvious unforeseeable circumstances, they did not quite mange that completion date. I can't find an announcement, but it must have been June-December 2021, from EE's description of how clever they were.

EE’s multi-operator DAS solution system is now live, increasing the coverage footprint on the entire HS1 route, particularly in the five tunnels between St Pancras International and Ashford Cut and Cover. This enables users and workers on the Southeastern and Eurostar services to exclusively benefit from 4G speeds and continuous coverage they enter the Eurotunnel.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 4 Mar 2023 ==

HS1 said (above) "The system is designed to be multi-operator capable. EE will fund the installation and other MNOs can pay a share of the costs to join the scheme." I did find some media coverage last May, all based on the same EE release, including this work with other railway-side network enhancements around London. That was all pitched as improvements to EE's own network, with nothing about other operators joining in. But has anyone got 4G other than from EE in that Thames tunnel?

 

[mrmartin]

No, but the onboard wifi works in tunnels so I just switch to that (on O2).

 

[jon0844]

The HS1 coverage is excellent and most welcomed for being able to check train times and platforms on approach to St Pancras, but it must be noted that I've experienced more than one occasion where there has been no data flow at all in the tunnel between St Pancras and Stratford.

I know it's a first world problem for a relatively short distance, but once you've had it it is annoying to lose it. I'm not a heavy HS1 user so it suggests there's not as much resilience as you might expect.