02/02, 1:10pm
San Fran's BART gets Wi-Fi
San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) service should soon see the addition of permanent mobile Wi-Fi access, according to the technology's provider. WiFi Rail says it has a signed a 20-year deal to provide hotspots throughout BART's terminal network, and particularly on all commuter trains, where the only alternative has so far been cellular access. Routers and switches are being provided by Cisco, while servers are slated to run Mac OS X.
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02/01, 1:30pm
Wi-Fi Rail on BART Trains
Overcoming what it says is a key obstacle to getting Internet access into public transit, Wi-Fi Rail today revealed that it has finished installing and deploying one of the first truly functional underground Wi-Fi systems for trains. In testing since the summer, a system deployed at four stops along the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) network in San Francisco has been providing 802.11g wireless access in between the stations regardless of the station or the trains' moving speed. A combination of strategically placed transmitters, amplifiers, and receivers (including some inside the rail cars) keeps the signal strong even along bends in the track; it also provides enough overlap that the connection remains uninterrupted even at 65 miles an hour, Wi-Fi Rail says.
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