Case study · Project StarBws
Project StarBws: the UK's first Starlink-powered bus
On a rural route in West Wales, Dragon WiFi put Starlink satellite and 5G on a service bus, with partners Peplink and WaveMobile. Designed and installed in six weeks, it was the first UK public bus with Starlink, and it gave passengers WiFi at over 150 Mbps.
The results
- 150+ Mbpspassenger WiFi
- 6 weeksfrom idea to a bus in service
- 150+ userson the 1.5-hour journey
- UK firstpublic bus with Starlink
The challenge
The Welsh Government wanted better passenger WiFi on public transport in the Swansea Bay City Region. We partnered with Richards Bros, who run the 460 between Carmarthen and Cardigan, to show what was possible.
The bus paid separately for WiFi, ticket machine data, telemetry and CCTV, from different suppliers. None of it worked together, and the route runs through rural areas where mobile signal is poor, so passenger WiFi and telemetry kept dropping. Without a fixed IP SIM it couldn't be managed remotely either.
What went on the bus
- Peplink BR1 Pro 5G router, on the bus's own DC power with built-in GPS
- Starlink Mini for low-earth-orbit satellite internet
- Peplink Mobility 42G antenna, to get signal through the aluminium body
- Band 40 small cell from WaveMobile, boosting mobile coverage onboard
- SpeedFusion tunnel to a remote FusionHub, bonding satellite and mobile into one connection
How it works
Bonded satellite and mobile
SpeedFusion bonding adds the satellite and mobile links together for more bandwidth. Hot failover switches between them wherever one is weaker, so downtime was only a few seconds on the whole route.
One network for everything
Passenger WiFi, ticket machines, telemetry and CCTV all run over the same connection, managed centrally in Peplink InControl, instead of separate contracts from separate suppliers.
Live tracking
The router's GPS feeds live position and connection data to our StarBws fleet portal, the same system that now tracks the TaithCymru coaches.
From one bus to a fleet
StarBws led to more transport work. Transport for Wales' TaithCymru coaches between Bangor and Carmarthen now carry Starlink and 5G WiFi, with route logging and a live fleet portal. The same bonded kit goes into SARcom, our secure, portable connectivity for wherever a connection is needed.
“We are proud to be innovating in this space with our neutral host connectivity and the first transportation use of LTE Band 40 which shares the 5GHz WiFi band.”Anthony Timson, Technical Director, WaveMobile (from Peplink's case study)
Want this on your fleet?
Buses, coaches, boats or service vehicles: we'll design a connection that keeps working where single-network WiFi gives up.
Call us on:
Wales - 01437 76 33 33
South West - 01579 68 60 01
hello@dragonwifi.co.uk
You'll be answered by a human in our office!