M
I learned this the hard way while trying to work on a midterm during my trip on the Empire Builder. I didn't have service across most of North Dakota and Montana. I ended up having to spend my first day in Seattle doing homework instead of sightseeing.I pity the fools who feel the need to be connected 23/6 (if not 24/7) and have chosen T-Mobile or Sprint (along with smaller carriers) as their provider only to find out "No Service" is the rule outside of urban areas or a few miles away from an Interstate highway.
I've carried Jump Pack hotspots on several Western routes and found T-Mobile to have nearly identical coverage as Verizon. Not looking forward to a tie-up with Sprint though. TMO has done a lot right and now they're going to throw it away to merge with a dumpster fire.I pity the fools who feel the need to be connected 23/6 (if not 24/7) and have chosen T-Mobile or Sprint (along with smaller carriers) as their provider only to find out "No Service" is the rule outside of urban areas or a few miles away from an Interstate highway.
With the roaming agreements that T-Mobile, Sprint, and the smaller carriers have, I've found true "no signal" areas to be infrequent, even in rural areas. Sometimes they're talk/text only, but often data is included as well. I actually choose Sprint because they have the best mix of price, network, and roaming agreements for where I live and travel frequently. The ability to roam on US Cellular is wonderful when traveling in Iowa (which is at least an every-couple-months affair,) their coverage is adequate throughout my other semi-frequently-visited places (something I can't say for Verizon or T-Mobile,) and the plan I have with them is a stellar bargain.It's also worth noting that cellular coverage along many of Amtrak's routes is carrier-dependent, regardless of availability.
AT&T is notoriously absent in large swaths of the interior West (notably in much of Nebraska) and in certain other pockets. I pity the fools who feel the need to be connected 23/6 (if not 24/7) and have chosen T-Mobile or Sprint (along with smaller carriers) as their provider only to find out "No Service" is the rule outside of urban areas or a few miles away from an Interstate highway.
When will Amtrak add wiFi to the Superliners? Is it a feature they have to add to the car itself? And if so, is Amtrak at the stage where they probably won't bother since the Superliners are probably past their shelf life?
How about the Capitol Limited? They share the LSL route between CHI and CLE and CLE and PGH at least should be decent service? It should be worthwhile on that route? A lot of the Coast Starlight is through California, service should be available there. They shouldn't need satellite for those routes. If they can put wiFi on the Cardinal which goes through the middle of nowhere West Virginia they should be able to put what's on the Cardinal on at least some of the Superliner routes (sure, the Empire Builder is through the middle of nowhere through 3/4 of the route so it wouldn't make a difference).In order to have reliable wi-fi on most superliner trains it would have to be satellite based due to spotty cellular signals along most western routes. That would be an expense I don't think Amtrak can afford right now
Between Chicago and Pittsburgh yes you should have reliable service because it goes through a more densely populated region. The Cardinal may have wifi going through middle of nowhere West Virginia but how well does it work?How about the Capitol Limited? They share the LSL route between CHI and CLE and CLE and PGH at least should be decent service? It should be worthwhile on that route? A lot of the Coast Starlight is through California, service should be available there. They shouldn't need satellite for those routes. If they can put wiFi on the Cardinal which goes through the middle of nowhere West Virginia they should be able to put what's on the Cardinal on at least some of the Superliner routes (sure, the Empire Builder is through the middle of nowhere through 3/4 of the route so it wouldn't make a difference).
Actually, Amtrak has REMOVED WiFi on the Coast Starlight. It was there 2 years ago, gone sometime before I rode it this past April. WiFi on the Starlight had been a simple mobile hotspot in the lounge car substituting for the PPC 3 years ago. 2 years ago, it was in the sleepers and there was a sign in the corridor at the coffee station indicating the name and password. Last April...gone!When will Amtrak add wiFi to the Superliners? Is it a feature they have to add to the car itself? And if so, is Amtrak at the stage where they probably won't bother since the Superliners are probably past their shelf life?
I'd take the over on that bet. Out here on the LD network Amtrak has been removing connectivity. It's true that the NEC received a major upgrade but I'd imagine any further upgrades would be dependent on the functional lifespan of the most recently installed hardware and expiration of the related service contract.So by 2025, every Amtrak train and most other forms of mass transportation (buses, ships, ferries, commuter rail, etc.) will have WiFi with a GB of bandwidth.