Cell phone reception for passengers on Deutsche Bahn long-distance trains is to be improved by post-treatment of the window panes. To this end, 70,000 windows on 3,300 ICE and IC cars will be processed with a laser in the coming years. This was first reported by Picture on Sunday, a railway spokesman later confirmed the plan. The company is spending 50 million euros on this.
The process involves incorporating a delicate pattern into the thin metal coating of the windows, which shields both light and mobile phone signals. Mobile phone signals reach the train directly through the windows; previously, so-called repeaters were required in the carriages. The repeaters also eliminate a potential source of error. Railway board member Michael Peterson told the newspaper: “With laser technology, we are improving mobile phone reception on the train. Our new ICE trains are already equipped with window panes that are transparent to mobile radio.” Technical director Daniela Gerd tom Markotten added: “Once lasered, the windows allow mobile phone signals from all providers and all current and future mobile phone standards into the train almost unhindered.”