Efforts by cities and transit authorities to keep bus and train passengers connected have been lackluster, but 4G may change that.
By Paul Kapustka, PCWorld Aug 16, 2012 6:00 pm
In an era where Wi-Fi services are cropping up almost everywhere (you can now get Wi-Fi with your fries or while you're picking up lumber), it's still not so easy to get Wi-Fi while on the go, especially on public transit in most of America's major cities.
With a few exceptions, such as Boston's transit-wide services, most commuters in major U.S. cities must find Internet access on their own, typically through a personal cellular device (a phone with tethering or a mobile hotspot). The lack of Wi-Fi services on buses and trains across the nation is due mainly to two factors: The technology isn’t quite there yet, and the costs are too high.
But good news might just around the next bend. Wireless services are benefiting from innovation that can dramatically cut costs—or even eliminate costs—to transit providers, while also dramatically improving wireless connection speeds. New business models, where advertisers pay so they can broadcast marketing messages to customers using the wireless service, are already behind new transit services like the combined Wi-Fi and cellular system recently installed in some New York City subway stations.
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