07-23-2003, 04:00 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 739
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VIA Rail Canada to Offer Wi-Fi on Trains
"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."
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."
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07-23-2003, 04:47 AM
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,998
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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:
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07-23-2003, 05:07 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 11
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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:
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07-23-2003, 06:37 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,616
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Apparently, it's only a car or two per train. And you'll know it when you see it, iirc. :wink:
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iPhone 4! ☠☠☠ Mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro! ☠☠☠ Gateway LT2102h! ☠☠☠ Dell XPS M1210!
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07-23-2003, 06:39 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,616
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by jaybird
This is great news.....just hope they roll it out to other routes.
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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.
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iPhone 4! ☠☠☠ Mid-2010 15" MacBook Pro! ☠☠☠ Gateway LT2102h! ☠☠☠ Dell XPS M1210!
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07-23-2003, 06:57 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 405
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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:
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07-23-2003, 02:13 PM
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Thinker
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 338
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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.
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07-23-2003, 02:37 PM
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Sage
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 739
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Fzara
Ps. Crystal: can you please re-format the link so it is Mobile friendly. :mrgreen:
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:| 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.
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07-23-2003, 03:49 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 15,171
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Fzara
I wonder if anything like this is planned or possible for the subways (for ex., in NYC or in Boston, etc.)
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Not anytime soon.  We have yet to get underground cell service...
--janak
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07-23-2003, 04:12 PM
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Pontificator
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 1,049
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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
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"Do not try. Do or Do Not. There is no try"Yoda, Empire Strikes Back
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