Construction has kicked off for a pretty ambitious railway project, aiming to test out a super-fast mobile network along the train tracks. The plan is to achieve gigabit speeds, and they’ve already started setting up the first set of masts along a not-so-busy ten-kilometer stretch between Karow and Malchow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Deutsche Bahn and Telefónica (O2) are teaming up for this, and it’s not just them—Vantage Towers and Ericsson are also in on the action.
This project is no small feat—it’s costing around 12.7 million euros, with half the tab covered by grants from the federal transportation ministry. Right now, they’re in the early stages, looking to have 13 antenna spots up and running before the year wraps up. Once that’s done, they’ll be doing some measurements to fine-tune the system.
But here’s the thing: to make gigabit speeds happen, they’re going to need a bunch of masts. Test runs with those sleek ICE trains are scheduled for spring 2024, but going full-scale with this gigabit network across all of Germany’s train tracks? That’s still up in the air. It’s not just about the cost—it’s also about needing way more mobile network masts than they’ve got now.
What’s cool about this project is they’re trying out a simpler way of building things, skipping the traditional concrete foundations. Plus, they’re using a high-frequency band, which is a first for train tracks. This 3.6-gigahertz band can handle loads of data and has super-low latency.
But here’s the catch: while it’s powerful, the range for these antennas in this frequency band is pretty limited—only 500 to 1,000 meters. So, to cover the tracks, they’ll need loads more masts compared to the lower frequency bands currently used. Those lower bands might cover more ground but come with slower speeds and poorer performance.
They’re aiming high, though. On these ICE routes, they’re mandated to hit a minimum speed of 100 megabits per second. With this new project at 3.6 gigahertz, they’re shooting for 1,000 megabits per second—that’s 1 gigabit. That’d be a game-changer for internet on the go.
Daniela Gerd tom Markotten, the tech head honcho at Deutsche Bahn, thinks this top-notch connectivity is key to getting folks excited about eco-friendly train travel. She’s talking about turning those train carriages into mobile offices, cinemas, or lecture halls. But to handle the increasing data demand, she’s emphasizing the need for 5G with gigabit rates.
O2’s Valentina Daiber is all on board too. She’s pointing out that the tech is there for this blazing-fast gigabit network. The real challenge is figuring out how to roll it out effectively along the train tracks for their customers. And at the end of the day, this project is also about understanding the economics and funding behind it all.
