Delivering Broadband Internet Access for High Speed Trains Passengers Using an Innovative Network Mobility Solution

Abstract

This paper presents a description of the connectivity solution designed in Orange Labs R&D to enable the delivery of broadband internet access services on board high speed trains. Since a couple of years, several technical studies have been launched on the network mobility management across different access networks for the implementation of broadband on board-ground communications solutions. These studies are supported by an internal project, Mobile Router in Multiple Access, launched by Orange Labs in 2005 in order to develop technical solutions for the delivery of broadband access services and which led to the build of a connectivity solution to answer requirements for the equipment of high speed trains. Orange deployed an infrastructure supporting these internet connectivity services. This paper explains in detail the technical features that are implemented in the mobility solution to provide a broadband internet access and guarantee an efficient and seamless mobility across heterogeneous access networks. A further evolution of the mobile router towards ITS architecture is approached in the paper.