Wi-fi coming to Belgian trains by 2019

Belgian rail company SNCB is today running the first tests for wi-fi on the train. Telecoms minister Alexander De Croo and mobility minister Jacqueline Galant are on board for the test drive, together with rail boss Jo Cornu and commercial director Bart De Groote, writes De Morgen.

SNCB will soon launch a pilot project providing free wi-fi to passengers on the route between Liège and Ostend. If all goes well, the company aims to equip all trains with wireless internet by 2019 at the latest.

While technically possible, the initiative is far from simple, writes the newspaper, because it requires the conversion of regular mobile phone signals into wi-fi. Cornu has therefore requested that De Croo prepare the network by making sure that all of Belgium's telecom operators extend their capacity to include the entire rail network.