Provisioning Internet Access Using FSO in High-Speed Rail Networks

Abstract

The growing deployment and advanced development of high-speed train (HST) systems, coupled with the reliance on and demand for constant Internet connectivity any time any where, have necessitated the imminent provisioning of broadband Internet services in HSTs. Train-to-ground communications mostly suffers from frequent handoffs due to the high mobility of the trains. To provision high-speed Internet services in HSTs, we propose a novel solution named Free-space OptiCs Utilization in high-Speed trains (FOCUS). Our solution takes advantage of the high optical bandwidth of free space optics (FSO) to provide high data rates. FOCUS aims to improve the trainto- ground communications system by deploying on-roof FSO transceivers. To minimize the number of handoff processes, the control unit inside the train forwards each request to go through the proper transceiver. The proposed mechanism decreases the packet loss ratio and increases network performance in high-speed train communications.