Not many people would deliberately devote four days to train travel in order to work out just how good Next G broadband coverage is, but it does provide some unusual insights into when 3G broadband services are useful (and when they aren't). Here's the five key lessons I've learnt during the Off The Rails project.

The Off The Rails experiment has seen some pretty variable results, so it was pleasing to run a test journey from the Brisbane CBD to the Gold Coast and back again and encounter no issues whatsoever.

Off The Rails has a pretty clear lessen so far: The further north in NSW you head on a train, the less likely it is that Next G wireless broadband will work effectively. And when it does, the performance is anything but guaranteed.

The Off The Rails project diverts to Maitland to see how well wireless broadband works where the regions meet the city. The most impressive outcome? The best ping times I've seen so far.