A novel network architecture for train-to-wayside communication with quality of service over heterogeneous wireless networks

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Table 1 High level overview of the characteristics of different wireless technologies

Parameter	Satellite network	Cellular networks	Wireless data networks
Bandwidth	High	Low-high	High-very high
	(2-50 Mbps)	(0.17-14.4 Mbps)	(2-50 Mbps)
		(future: 0.1-1 Gbps)	(future: 0.1-1 Gbps)
Delay	High	Low-very high	Very low
	(500 ms)	(100-1000 ms)	(<50 ms)
		(future: <50 ms)
Current coverage	International	National	Limited
	(but no coverage in dense urban areas, tunnels)	(for most recent standards not yet fully achieved)	(new networks needed)
Maximum train speed	Very high	High	Low - high
	(up to 500 km/h)	(up to 250 km/h)	(120-250 km/h)
		(future: >250 km/h)	(future: >250 km/h)
Technologies	DVB-S [78]	GPRS (2G) [79]	Wi-Fi [80]
	DVB-S2 [81, 82]	EDGE (2.75) [83]	Flash-OFDM [84]
	DVB-RCS [85, 86]	UMTS (3G) [87]	WiMAX [88, 89]
		HSPA (3.5G) [90] (future: LTE (4G) [91], LTE-Advanced)	(future: WiMAX 2)