Venture capitalist Octopus has invested a further £220,000 in 21Net, a specialist in broadband provision on high-speed trains.

Venture capitalist Octopus has invested a further £220,000 in 21Net, a specialist in broadband provision on high-speed trains. The funding brings Octopus’ total commitment to the business to £1.5 million.

More than half of the capital provided by Octopus was from the Titan VCTs, which were launched one year ago. The remainder came from members of the Octopus Investor Group in addition to the Octopus EIS fund.

21Net, which has equipped 14 trains with its technology and expects to complete work on another 12 by the end of the month, will use the money to further develop its service.

The company, which was founded in 2001 and is sponsored by the European Space Agency, was selected by train operator Thalys to provide wireless broadband access to passengers on certain European routes by the end of 2008.