Network management Toolkit 
Story: Virgin takes Wi-Fi up the west coast
Posted by: Ivor Kelly (Friday 4 March 2005, 12:26 AM)
The wi-fi system you are offering seems as flawed as other products offered by Virgin owned companies. Mobile phone reception in Pendolinos and Voyagers is totally unacceptable because the train designers, and the Virgin specifiers, failed to appreciate what a Faraday cage was, and also specificied windows with high attenuation. I, and other 1st class regular passengers, do not expect to pay premium fares and not have a reliable mobile phone reception. I contest your statement that we understand that mobile phones do not work in tunnels. Only in the UK is this true; on the continent they have heard of leaky feeder aerials to give reception in tunnels. Also Network rail are implementing cab-secure mobile phones operating in tunnels. Your proposed wi-fi system is flawed if it has any drop-outs at all. You are planning for failure. Well, nothing new there in a Virgin investor company..... At £275 1st class return from Manchester to London, I expect Virgin to employ someone up to the job of implementing wi-fi properly in the 21st century. I will not bother subscribing to your service.
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