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Icomera AB, the world’s leading provider of cellular broadband gateways, has announced that Stagecoach Group plc, one of the UK’s largest transport operators, has expanded its in-vehicle Wi-Fi services for passengers across multiple fleets in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Wales. Stagecoach already utilizes Icomera’s award-winning Moovbox M200 Mobile Broadband Gateway to provide mobile Wi-Fi hotspot connectivity to passengers at speeds up to several megabits per second on bus services in London, Oxfordshire and Scotland.
As part of a Government-funded £116m scheme to bring better transportation to Cambridgeshire, Stagecoach has launched a fleet of twenty new state-of-the-art vehicles to operate on the longest and greenest guided busway in the world. Commissioned by Cambridgeshire County Council, the 25km (16 mile) guided busway will provide a frequent, reliable, sustainable and attractive public transport alternative to driving between St Ives and Cambridge.
"This is a major investment by Stagecoach in a project that we believe will bring significant economic, transport and environmental benefits to the Cambridgeshire region," said Les Warneford, Managing Director of Stagecoach UK Bus. "The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway will improve access to jobs, education, healthcare and shopping for local people. By using 100% biofuel and equipping the vehicles with hi-spec features such as leather seats and Wi-Fi, we believe we will be able to attract current car users to a significantly greener, smarter travel option.”
Concurrently Stagecoach has invested over £3.5m in seventeen new Moovbox-equipped coaches on the X5 route servicing towns between Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Oxford. "The new coaches boast greener engines, leather seats, free Wi-Fi, power sockets, air-conditioning and access for wheelchair users", said Tony Cox, Managing Director of Stagecoach East. "Commuters will love the free Wi-Fi and power sockets, meaning they can start work as soon as they get on the coach."
In South Wales, Stagecoach has launched a new £2m fleet equipped with Wi-Fi Internet access to allow passengers to check their e-mails and surf the web. The seventeen ADL/MAN Enviro 300 buses hi-tech buses will operate the X4 service from Hereford to Cardiff via Abergavenny, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil and Pontypridd, with Internet access provided by the Icomera Moovbox available throughout the journey.
The Moovbox M200 Mobile Broadband Gateway acts as a bridge between a vehicle and high-speed cellular data networks including 3G/HSPA, EV-DO and WiMAX, providing Wi-Fi access and an Ethernet-based local area network (LAN) for connecting on-board systems such as CCTV and passenger information systems. The M200 also has integrated GPS receiver for real-time automatic vehicle location (AVL) via the web-based MoovManage service. Stagecoach will be utilizing the Vodafone’s next-generation HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) 3G network to provide Moovbox connectivity.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
