VIA Rail Canada to Offer Wi-Fi on Trains

[Crystal Eitle]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,82940,00.html' target='_blank'>http://www.computerworld.com/mobile...1,82940,00.html</a><br /><br /></div>"VIA Rail Canada is taking Wi-Fi mobile, kicking off a four-month test of high-speed Internet service on selected passenger trains in the Montreal-Toronto corridor in partnership with Bell Canada International Inc. and Intel Canada. Bell Canada has equipped the VIA test trains with three separate wireless systems to support the passenger Internet service. Broadband service to the train is provided by high-speed data service beamed from Bell's ExpressVu satellite system. The satellite signals are fed into an onboard server provided by PointShot Wireless, an Ottawa-based start-up focused on providing wireless services to mobile markets. The PointShot server feeds the satellite signal to a Wi-Fi access point in a first-class car that users can access from laptop or handheld computers. Although a train could briefly lose signals from either the satellite or terrestrial network the PointShot system masks these outages from the user."<br /><br />I find this idea really appealing, the ability to use the Internet while in motion. Unfortunately, we're not going to see this in the U.S. anytime soon, at least not on trains. According to the article, Amtrak would like to offer Wi-Fi service, but is "not financially able to do it now."

[Jeff Rutledge]

This sucks!

I was supposed to be on a Toronto-Montreal train tomorrow, but I ended up having to cancel. So now I not only lost a few Air Miles (I got non-refundable's), but now I can't be one of the first to WiFi on the rails!!! :boohoo:

[jaybird]

This is great news.....just hope they roll it out to other routes.

I go back and forth from London to Toronto all the time. As it is, I get people staring at my PPC while I watch a movie or play a game. Guess I'll be getting even more attention surfing wirelessly :)

Hope Canadians get more of this. I'm jealous of Americans and all their hot spots. :devilboy:

[ctmagnus]

Apparently, it's only a car or two per train. And you'll know it when you see it, iirc. :wink:

[ctmagnus]

This is great news.....just hope they roll it out to other routes.

I hope Via rolls out to other routes. They used to run through here but hey stopped for some Reason. I loved taking the train to get someplace.

[Fzara]

I wonder if anything like this is planned or possible for the subways (for ex., in NYC or in Boston, etc.)

Ps. Crystal: can you please re-format the link so it is Mobile friendly. :mrgreen:

[Bob Anderson]

This is exactly what I was hoping my form of transportation would adopt. I take the Washington State Ferries to work each day... and with the average commute time across Puget Sound taking 20 - 60 minutes, it's an ideal market for WIFI.

In fact, with no overhead obstacles, other than clouds, I could imagine a system that would offer nearly "non-stop" WIFI service for the entire trip!

I'm going to have to forward this link to the ferry system and see if I can't get someone to latch on to this idea.

[Crystal Eitle]

Ps. Crystal: can you please re-format the link so it is Mobile friendly. :mrgreen:
:| I'll have to ask the guys how to do that. Our submission form for front-page posts has a "link to" field that automatically puts the link in the title; this link then appears "naked" in the main post. I'm not sure if there's any way around this.

[Janak Parekh]

I wonder if anything like this is planned or possible for the subways (for ex., in NYC or in Boston, etc.)
Not anytime soon. :( We have yet to get underground cell service...

--janak

[Thinkingmandavid]

I think it is cool, I dont think they will do anything like that in the U.S. anytime soon. I feel more public places should have wi fi. It is a good way to draw customers to your location of business. People see a crowd, they are going to keep dropping in

[shindullin]

Given the dirth of public wifi access in the US, it is legal/ethical to use non-secured residential and business wifi connections?
Sit in a cafe, whip out your PPC and find that the guy next door has an open WiFi system and tap in to surf the net? Then we could just have a giant network of open residential and business connections all over the country. ...or is this OT?

[ctmagnus]

I think it is cool, I dont think they will do anything like that in the U.S. anytime soon. I feel more public places should have wi fi. It is a good way to draw customers to your location of business. People see a crowd, they are going to keep dropping in

Wirelesscity.ca (http://www.wirelesscity.ca) :wink:

[ctmagnus]

Given the dirth of public wifi access in the US, it is legal/ethical to use non-secured residential and business wifi connections?
Sit in a cafe, whip out your PPC and find that the guy next door has an open WiFi system and tap in to surf the net? Then we could just have a giant network of open residential and business connections all over the country. ...or is this OT?

Very nonethical. Equivalent to stealing cable TV, only not really enforceable yet.