physioprof

I don't even bother with Amtrak WiFi. I just use my phone as a WiFi hot spot. Sometimes I even let other pax log in and use it, too.

GadgetKen

Have used Amtrak wifi and also various cellular data setups. Normal route would be the NER from WND to WAS in business class. Haven't been on the NER lately but can relate my experiences with wifi.

Impressions of Amtrak Wifi: definitely works but speeds are not as good as what I can get with a cellular data setup. As the train fills up going south, the wifi speeds tend to degrade. If briefly at a train station in transit I may also be able to connect to the station wifi if it has any or off a nearby train (including once picked up wifi from a nearby stationary Acela train with some interesting splash page graphics). Not perfect, but still it gives an option for people who don't have a cellular data setup or reasonably priced cellular data that they can often use.

Have had good results with AT&T Postpaid LTE either in a USB key or a mifi device. Do occasionally lose signal (particularly in tunnel going from NYP). Also there used to be a brief roaming situation on the CT shoreline for a mile or two that was likely going off a T-Mo EDGE signal.

Have tried Millenicom/Verizon before Millenicom stopped service, AT&T tethering off a 3g GoPhone years ago (bluetooth PAN to a Mac), and NetZero/Sprint Wimax service (marginal Wimax coverage but Sprint LTE should be much better).

Also now have LTE devices from two Sprint resellers:

FreedomPop on 2 USB keys and a mifi device. ~1 gb free a month each device through free plan and added data from their FreedomFriends network.

Karma on one LTE mifi device. Intriguing because I can use my own non-expiring paid data but other ports on the device allow others to get 100 mb data free and I also get a similar kickback. It's a data teaser hoping people will buy additional data and possibly their own device. Have to try this on the NER and see how many people log on to get unthrottled Sprint LTE data

physioprof

Mine is Verizon, and the only place I ever lose connectivity NYP-WAS is under Baltimore Harbor. The Hudson River tunnel is wired.

GadgetKen

I've noticed some tunnel service is better with Verizon than with AT&T. In WAS, many of the Metro subway tunnels were originally only Verizon. That was changed and many stations and tunnels now work with other carriers (without off-network roaming). But the AT&T coverage in some areas I travel in is better than Verizon, and AT&T offered high speed LTE near my home much earlier than Verizon did.

Just wish Sprint would expand their network more. Can get less expensive (or even limited free service) on Sprint resellers, but they don't co-locate on as many rural area towers as AT&T and Verizon have. With Softbank of Japan bankrolling Sprint that is investing in more infrastructure, and Sprint rolling out tri-band LTE ("Spark") service, this may change.

AlanB

Only for Verizon and its compatibles. Those with AT&T are out of luck in the Hudson River tunnel. Same with the East River tunnels on the way to Boston, only Verizon.

physioprof

Srsly? That's terrible for AT&T customers.

AlanB

Yup, I have AT&T and never have service when I take the LIRR into NYP or on Amtrak in either direction out of NYP.

MrChu

Just use your hotspot on your phone. I have ATT and it works most of the way from NYP to WIL except for a few well known patches such as Hudson tunnel, Princeton, North Philadelphia, of course 30th street station (which always annoys the $!*!* out of me since the trains tend to crap out for several minutes in Philadelphia) and Clayton (north of Wilmington). It's a shame that even on the NE corridor you have to struggle to get a good wifi signal but that is the state of affairs. I guess it matches the scenery of the third world country as you pass by!

musicalbox

I have T-Mo and it works everywhere from NYP-BAL except the Hudson tunnel, 30th Street Station, and a stretch of Northeastern MD.

I never bother with Amtrak's wifi, it rarely works or works well.

Related to this, I always pull up my ticket on the app before leaving NYP as occasionally they will lift them in the tunnel. Yes, I could use a pdf on my phone, but I like the app.

GadgetKen

It's not that much of a big deal for me since it's not that long a period of time in the Hudson River tunnel. I can just pause a data connection and then start up again once I've cleared the tunnel. Would be AT&T mifi or usb postpaid, limited free Sprint/FreedomPop mifi or USB, or cheap Sprint/Karma mifi service.

Plus I've got more than one wireless device. While my primary phone is an AT&T/H20 prepaid pay-as-you-go, the secondary phone is a Sprint/RingPlus ad-supported phone that can fall back to other CDMA carriers including Verizon (SMS no additional charge but they pull out of a cash balance for voice or data). So I can still place or receive a phone call in the tunnel although I'll have to pay 14 cents a minute off-network roaming.

jackal

Wasn't this done a little while ago as Amtrak's corporate account for mobile is with Verizon? Conductors have company-issued Verizon phones and use them (at least in dark territory out west) to report departure times to Dispatch so that they can update the train status.* I seem to recall reading that the Hudson Tunnel was wired with Verizon in partnership with Amtrak because Amtrak uses Verizon's network for its own internal communication resources.

*This information may be out of date, as now Amtrak tracks all of its locomotives wirelessly and the process of updating locations, station arrivals/departures, and ETA/delays may now be automated...with heavy emphasis on the "may," knowing Amtrak IT.

GadgetKen

Things can change though. Verizon used to have an exclusive for Washington DC Metro subway tunnels (which goes right into the WAS terminal) but they've started wiring many tunnels for other carriers (with numerous bureaucratic and technical delays including the bankruptcy of Powerwave that was wiring the tunnels).

Maybe things will change when they do repairs on the Hudson River tunnels or when they possibly build new ones...although that could be years and billions of dollars from now http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/08/ar...nels.html?_r=0

jackal

I don't know necessarily that Verizon has an exclusive on the Hudson River tunnels. I think, rather, that Amtrak may have provided a financial incentive for Verizon to add coverage inside the tunnels--something they wouldn't have otherwise done as the ROI probably wouldn't have otherwise been there to add coverage. (That is, without the coverage, a couple hundred commuters on a train lose coverage for 5 minutes--big whoop. No one's going to drop their cell carrier over that, especially if none of the competition offers coverage, either.)

If AT&T wanted to come in and add coverage at their own expense, I doubt Amtrak would have any objection.

The Washington Metro is a different story--tends of thousands of people are underground for relatively longer periods of time in immediate proximity to their businesses (and, for some, homes), where the need to remain in contact or continue a conference call is likely greater than on a longer-distance commute. A lack of coverage is felt more strongly in that situation, and a carrier who provides coverage has a clear competitive advantage for people living and working in that area and using that form of public transit.

physioprof

I don't know the exact numbers, but huge numbers of train travelers--both Amtrak and NJ Transit--go through those tunnels every day. It's a lot more than a couple hundred on a train. And many of them go in and out every day.

Vance

If anything, the wifi seems worse to me. Then again, that's because on my last trip it didn't work in either direction. The conductor was willing to flip the switch, but that led to about two to eight minutes of service before the thing went off again.