Airport Communter Buses to Get Free Wi-Fi Service

Published on: 25th February 2009

A fleet of buses running between Luton Airport and London, UK have been fitted out with free Wi-Fi services for passengers. The fleet of buses, operated by Arriva has been equipped with Icomera's Moovbox M Series mobile broadband gateway that provides Wi-Fi connectivity on the move with actual download speeds in excess of two megabits per second. The Green Line vehicles also leverage the Moovbox for GPS-based location, enabling Arriva staff to monitor and track the fleet's vehicles in real-time.

"International travelers expect Internet access at the airport and in hotels, so it was only natural for us to provide free Wi-Fi to and from the airport as well," said Brian Drury, Commercial Director at Arriva The Shires & Essex. "Icomera's Moovbox technology not only provides a cost-effective solution for passenger Internet access but also enables us to keep track of our fleet's precise location at any given moment. This helps Arriva achieve operational efficiencies as well as increasing customer satisfaction."

The Moovbox mobile broadband gateway acts as a bridge between a vehicle and high-speed cellular data networks, providing Wi-Fi access and an Ethernet-based local area network (LAN) for connecting on-board systems such as CCTV, automated announcement, and e-ticketing. The Green Line service utilizes Vodafone's HSPA network for the backhaul. The Luton deployment follows other successful Moovbox-based passenger Wi-Fi installations by Arriva, including the Glasgow Flyer bus service between Glasgow Airport and the city centre, and Arriva Scandinavia's train services throughout Denmark.

"Equipping airport express buses and trains with Internet connectivity is a common sense decision for public transport companies such as Arriva," said Frederik Gustafsson, Executive Vice President of Business Development at Icomera. "As Wi- Fi equipped handheld and portable devices continue to proliferate, so passenger Wi-Fi will be increasingly in demand. But the operational benefits of having a vehicle connected to the Internet - such as passenger security and vehicle location - are very often the key drivers upon which a fleet operator makes that investment decision."

 

Tags: [ethernet]  [wi-fi]  [vodafone]  [gps]  [hspa]  [mobile broadband]  [trains]  [arriva]  [airport]  [glasgow]  [buses]  [public transport]  [UK]