Eurotunnel activates 4G network in Channel Tunnel

Train passengers can now use 4G in the approximately 50 kilometer long Channel Tunnel. This is possible due to the upgrade of the 3g network with 4g equipment. Tunnel operator Eurotunnel works together with four providers for this.

Eurotunnel has made the 4g equipment compatible with the 4g networks of EE, O2, Vodafone and Bouygues Telecom. To this end, the parties have entered into a ten-year agreement. According to the tunnel operator, train passengers between France and the United Kingdom, traveling at speeds of up to 140 km/h through the tunnel, can now use the internet at an average ten times faster speed compared to the old 3G network that was installed in the tunnel. Approximately 21 million travelers travel through the undersea tunnel every year.

According to Eurotunnel, the construction of the necessary hardware in the Channel Tunnel took almost three years. One of the challenges Alcatel-Lucent encountered when installing the 4G equipment was separating GSM-P traffic, intended for normal telephone conversations, and the GSM-R standard developed specifically for the railways.