As we told you last week, thanks to the Olympics, London Tube commuters will be getting Wi-Fi on the platform by 2012. But this news is nowhere near as exciting as it sounds. As I said in the original post on Tube Wi-Fi, we don't exactly have money to splash around do we? Wi-Fi on the tube just seems like another luxury for the middle-class whilst things get harder for the rest of us. But avoiding politics let's stick with the subject in hand, technology.
Those in the past had wild expectations for 2012. Floating cars, space exploration, shinning metropolises. But in reality, here we are hoping for wireless internet. Not on the train. At the station. What would have been much more helpful was plans to install a 3G network. on the London Underground .
Chinese telecom provider Huawei had offered to donate the hardware (to the tune of £50million) required to provide mobile coverage on tube. Despite this generous donation the latest news is thar ‘Transport for London and mobile operators including 02, Vodafone, Everything Everywhere and 3 and the French engineering company Thales, agreed to abandon the project over funding issues and the technical complexity of installing the system in time.’
So we can use Wi-Fi but we can't make a call? It seems we're building the ceiling before the walls. (Yes I just made that terrible metaphor up on the spot. But you know what I'm saying.)
A spokesperson from London mayor, Boris Johnson’s office told said that the mobile network remained a ‘long-term goal,’and that the current plan is simply to install WiFi networks at Tube stations. This would enable commuters to send and receive emails from the platform and while passing through stations
So what do you think? Wi-Fi or 3G what would get your vote.