Adelaide Bus Gets Wi-Fi Service
Queenslanders will be waiting a while for Wi-Fi on trains, and now Adelaide has stolen a jump on BrisVegas, rolling out a bus which includes free Wi-Fi services for all the passengers.
As with most of these projects, the connectivity on the i-Commute bus, which running for a six-month trial, is largely designed to provide passenger information and increased security. However, the Internet connection (courtesy of Adam Internet) will also be available for use by any mobile or PC-toting passengers.
I’ve done a little testing of using wireless broadband on buses in Adelaide (you have to do something on the way from the airport to town), and the experience has been OK — though like any transport-based system, there are bound to be dropouts in the inevitable black spots.
Hopefully this will extend to more than one bus (though I sadly doubt it’ll ever make it to the almost-moribund Adelaide train system, much as I love it). As Nick remarks over at Gizmodo, it might almost be worth moving to Adelaide for this degree of commitment to public Wi-Fi.
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Comments
It’s a worry that the only reason to move to Adelaide is free WiFi on a single bus.
David – Its by no means the only reason to live in Radelaide. We just keep the rest to ourselves because we don’t want the likes of you here!
I know all the buses running between QUT campuses in Brisbane have free wi-fi. Admittedly, not a bus available to a lot of people, but its a step in the right direction.
Yawn. Look up Icomera, who recently bought out Moovera. They have had an end to end mobile ISP system operational for years on trains, buses and ferries in the UK and Europe for many years. A free 3 month trial on several buses was conducted by Star-Tech Communications over a year ago using Icomera/Moovera technology on Sydney’s Westbus fleet on the busy M2 route. Telstra 3G was used for the backhaul, and the entire system only cost a few thousand. It was taken away after the trial because no bus operators wanted it – near sighted idiots. The service was very well received, and ahead of its time. This new trial is several years late.