The Intertelecom company has begun testing Wi-Fi internet services on several long-distance and suburban trains on the Odesa railway, the press service of the Odesa railway announced in a statement.
Telecommunication equipment has been installed in the sleeping and compartment cars of the Odesa-Kyiv train No. 106 “Chernomorets”.
The testing has been taking place for two weeks, and it will end on 6 November. At the end of the tests, which includes passenger surveys, a decision will be made on whether to introduce Wi-Fi on a permanent basis.
In addition, the railway has received a proposal to test the technology in the third-class sleeper cars of the Odesa-Kharkiv train No. 60.
As reported earlier, Minister of Infrastructure Andrii Pyvovarskyi has instructed the management of the State Railway Administration (Ukrzaliznytsia) to introduce Wi-Fi internet on all Ukrainian long-distance and commuter trains.
Wi-Fi internet was introduced on all the 10 Hyundai trains, two Tarpan trains, and two trains pulled by locomotives manufactured by the Kryukov Wagon Works on 1 September. The project was implemented by Intertelecom. However, according to the testimony of passengers, the quality of the Wi-Fi internet leaves a lot to be desired because the signal often disappears and passengers have difficulty connecting to the network and have to wait very long.
Intertelecom is a national telecommunications operator that provides mobile and landline communication services based on the CDMA technology. The operator provides services in more than 14,000 population centers in Ukraine.
