Spain: Movistar Plus on High Speed trains
November 4, 2016
From David Del Valle in Madrid
After a successful Beta test, Telefónica’s pay TV platform Movistar Plus will be available from December 5th on Renfe’s high speed trains (AVE Madrid-Seville) to 20 million potential customers in Spain.
The service, branded PlayRenfe, will enable travellers to enjoy wifi, broadband Internet access, live TV and a wide catalogue of TV films and series and music through their own mobile devices while travelling at a speed of 300 km/h
There will be two options: Basic package at €2 and Premium package at €4 linked to the loyalty programme Renfe Plus and the chosen travelling class (business, preferent or tourist). The travellers can request the service on the train, or book it in advance online.
The basic package includes data connection at 20 Mb through one device whereas the Premium service offer 100 Mb through three different devices and access to live TV.
The investment to put PlayRenfe into operation amounts to €168 million over the next ten years. Telefónica claims to have provided a complete wifi system on AVE trains with a network deployment to cover 1,600 km of high speed train lines, including 75 tunnels and 540 LTE spots in a combined network of 800 and 1,800 MHz along with satellite technology.