Enjoyed my trip on 14 yesterday, and it was certainly novel to test the wi-fi. I heard that it feeds from terrestrial sources (cell phone towers) only, not satellites. But I didn't get to test that hypothesis as the system was down for much of the afternoon, including the coastal stretch where there are no cell towers.

However, the Parlour Car attendant was able to reboot the system eventually. I successfully logged in from my room in the sleeper adjacent to the Parlour. When attempting to access a web site, a screen with the logo for "ICG" appears along with a Login button. I'm not sure how long each session lasts, but mine timed out after about 15 minutes of inactivity, requiring a new login. The connection was, not surprisingly, more stable when we were stationary than when we were on the move. According to Speedtest.net, my IP address denoted the ISP as being Sprint PCS.

The speeds were quite slow, even compared with mobile WWAN. Sitting stationary in San Jose with a full signal, I pulled 0.55 Mbps down and 0.08 Mbps up. So I opted for my WWAN for most of the trip.

Kudos to Amtrak for deploying AmtrakConnect outside the Northeast, but clearly the system needs to be refined before it rises to a level of quality that could justify charging anyone for it.