London St Pancras International, the UK’s 13th busiest railway station, is about to receive a serious speed boost. It won’t be the trains getting faster though, but rather the Wi-Fi.
The 48 million annual visitors that pass through the station will be treated to an insanely quick 1GB connection speed by the end of this year. Currently the internal fiber ring at the station sits at 200MB, but work has already begun on upping that to 1GB, and ultimately 20GB. That will translate into a connection 20 times better than it currently stands. This will make it the most powerful station Wi-Fi in Britain.
The connection will be so strong that 7,000 users will be able to stream HD-quality movies simultaneously – that’s 25 times the current capacity. Those lucky commuters will be able to download an entire high-definition movie in just two minutes. Having a reliable and speedy connection to check your work email one last time before heading off to that big meeting or conference will no doubt prove useful too.
The operation is being carried out by HS1, owner of St Pancras station. It will be carrying out similar upgrades at another three stations under their ownership.