Activities for the Improvement of the Services Using the Information and Communication Technologies on the Tokaido-Shinkansen

The Tokaido-Shinkansen has been providing various onboard services in accordance with contemporary requirements using the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) from its inauguration. The three primary ICT services are telephone, TV and Internet these days. They are available in the mobile situation of a vehicle speed. It would be important to offer these services on the Tokaido-Shinkansen. The countermeasures to enable cell phones to keep their connection inside tunnels have been taken. The digital TV service area expansion have been making the "watchable time" of Wanseg (digital TV for mobile terminals) longer on the journey. Therefore the realization of the onboard internet services is our current focus. This paper describes the activities for the onboard Internet services and the development of a high speed communication system for high speed vehicles.