labels: Telecom
Japan's bullet trains to have Wi-Fi from March 2009 news
19 December 2008

Passengers on Japan's super-fast bullet trains will have Wi-Fi facility starting from March 2009 which will enable passengers traveling at 270 kilometers per hour to log on to the Internet.

NTT Communications will offer Wi-Fi service throughout cars on the new N700-type trains that offer the fastest rail link between Japan's two biggest cities of Tokyo and Osaka.

The service will be an extension of the NTT's HotSpot service, which already offers access in shops, restaurants, hotels and other locations across Japan.

Connections of around 2M bps (bits per second) will be provided through a "leaky coax" -- a wire travelling alongside the bullet train track from which signals can be sent and received wirelessly. NTT also plans to launch access in waiting lounges on all 17 stations along the route.

Users can enjoy Internet access wile traveling be it for business or entertainment. Business passengers tend to always want to be connected to the Web especially while traveling long distances even if they are only using Wi-Fi on their smartphones.

These services will be priced at either ¥500 (US$5.73) per day, or ¥1,680 ($19.25) for a monthly subscription which is the standard HotSpot rate. Considering the convenience and connections speed, these pieces are not too bad at all. Those who travel a lot would be saving a lot of money if they go for the monthly subscription.

In 2006, the plans for a wireless internet service on the bullet train were first announced but were pegged to the launch of the N700 cars rather than a retrofitting of older trains with the technology.


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Japan's bullet trains to have Wi-Fi from March 2009