France’s state rail operator SNCF has begun consultations ahead of a tender, expected in the fourth quarter, to equip its TGV high-speed trains with satellite internet. The company is weighing proposals from Elon Musk’s Starlink service and European rival Eutelsat OneWeb after years of passenger complaints about spotty on-board Wi-Fi that depends on terrestrial 4G and 5G signals. Both contenders operate low-Earth-orbit constellations designed to deliver high-bandwidth, low-latency connections. Starlink’s network numbers about 7,500 satellites, while Eutelsat OneWeb fields roughly 600. Switching to satellite links would bypass coverage gaps along the rail corridors and the metallic train cars that hamper mobile signals. SNCF said it is conducting technical trials and has not committed to a supplier. Any system would still need regulatory clearance and train-borne hardware certification, meaning passengers are unlikely to see full deployment before 2026. The move mirrors similar projects in aviation and on Scotland’s ScotRail network, and forms part of SNCF’s broader effort to improve digital services across its fleet.