Providing internet to trains using MIMO in LTE networks

Providing broadband passenger internet on board trains with continuous connectivity at high speeds and over large rural distances is a challenging issue. One solution to the problem is to use an onboard WiFi network connected to multiple 3G and 4G networks deployed outside the train and aggregate their combined capacity at the IP protocol level. In order to be able to provide the capacity and the data rates that tomorrow´s travelers are expecting, the future 4G standard (LTE-Advance) uses a combination of high order MIMO and carrier aggregation. In this study we use the Swedish company Icomera´s passenger internet system for our investigation. The system provides aggregation of multiple carrier and handover on an IP level. For about 10 years the system has in Sweden primarily been using multiple 3G communication links. However, here we present analysis and onboard measurements of a 2×2 MIMO channel to fast moving train in a live LTE 900 network. The results indicate that MIMO works surprisingly well and it is discussed that by combining 8×8 MIMO with carrier aggregation in future releases of 4G, it may be possible to bring gigabit internet connections to trains.