As we understand 4 companies came forward after Irish Rail publicly sought proposals to deliver Wifi onboard.
Only one of those companies actually delivered a working on train trial, that was Fleetconnect who seem to be acting as an agent of Icomera. We are unsure as to the reasons why the other three failed to deliver a working on train trial. There are very demanding safety certification standards to be met, this tends to trip up some of the cheap and cheerful offerings as the cost to get certified is significant (Icomera are certified in the UK, Sweden and others and under EU law Irish Rail accepts that certification)
A previous "free" offer disappeared. A representative of that company got quite flustered when we asked for evidence that they could deliver, white papers, previous customers etc.
A tendering process followed the trial. This was a long drawn out process and we understand a company has been chosen and various legal/contractual requirements for the deal are now complete and the equipment will be fitted very very soon.
As a result it is too late and bear in mind contracts are "most economically advantageous tender" so price is not necessarily the deciding factor. Technical capability was the key concern we understand.
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