Rail passengers will soon be offered Internet access via a wireless
local area network (WLAN) operating at a number of rail terminals
around the UK.
Following a pilot at London Paddington running since November 2001,
wireless network provider Megabeam has won a contract with
Railtrack to install 802.11 wireless LANs on the national rail
network.
When the system is up and running it will provide business rail
travellers in the UK with a broadband wireless Internet service.
The service is expected to be available in nine London terminals
including Waterloo, King's Cross, Euston, Paddington, Victoria,
London Bridge and Charing Cross as well as seven other major
stations across the country.
The Railtrack contract is part of Megabeam's plan to build a
pan-European WLAN network, which it expects to complete in the
first quarter of 2003. Ryan Jarvis, chief executive officer at
Megabeam, said: "We are rolling out WLANs in airports, rail
stations and international hotels across the UK and continental
Europe." He said the network is currently live in 18 cities across
Europe.
When it is complete, users who subscribe to the Megabeam service
will be able to access the Web via the wireless network. Jarvis
said users would only need to install a wireless card in order to
connect to the service. "When a user launches his Web browser, we
launch the Megabeam home page which prompts for a password and
username," he explained.
Jarvis said a non-subscriber would be able to access the network
using their credit card. "Users will be able to buy access for two
hours, a week or a year and can choose whether they want national
or pan-European access," he added. Jarvis said pricing for the
Megabeam service would be lower than the BT's published pricing of
£90 per month for a similar service.