Arriva Scandinavia AB, bus and train operator in Denmark and NZR have announced that it has commenced the roll out of free broadband internet access services to customers on the Arriva Denmark bus fleet.
Twenty three buses have already been equipped the Multimesh mobile broadband gateway developed by Meshhopper Wireless (member of UK based Something Group), a industry leading innovator, developer and operator of mobile and static
wireless access solutions. Arriva also selected Odyssys, the industry
leading automatic vehicle location solution that is embedded in all the
Multimesh broadband gateways to track and monitor each bus location in
real time via the centralized monitoring system that has been developed for
real time passenger transport information use. Arriva is largest bus operator
in Denmark, carrying more than 250 million passengers every year
"We are continually seeking new ways to improve the quality of bus travel
in Denmark," said Johnny Hansen, Managing Director of Arriva Scandinavia. "We
believe that the introduction of broadband services on these two bus lines in
Copenhagen today will enhance the passenger experience and provide a useful
and productive way for our customers to spend their journey time. If more
people decide to take the bus and leave their cars at home we can make a
serious contribution to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions," said
Johnny Hansen, CEO of Arriva Scandinavia.
The Multimesh gateway provides easy to use Wi-Fi Broadband Internet
access on each bus by creating a link between the bus and the 3G HSPA (High
Speed Packet Access) cellular broadband network provided by 3. In
addition, Multimesh offers Ethernet connectivity for in-vehicle systems
such as vehicle location, CCTV and ticketing. Free internet access is
provided by NZR with their Top-Portal product, so ensuring that users can be
online quickly, easily and free of charge.
"We are pleased that Arriva and NZR chose to work with our design and
development team to provide a solution that met the needs of Arriva and its
customers. As a pioneer in next generation networks, we were able to overcome
hurdles of integration and scalability, which placed the Multimesh
solution in the driving seat against other offerings in the market," said
Nigel Wesley, CEO of Meshhopper.
Arriva Scandinavia awarded the contract for in-bus broadband to Network
Zone Relations (NZR), Meshhopper`s representative in the region and a
specialist in wireless communication systems. "Arriva's roll-out of Wi-Fi for
bus passengers is a clear indication of the importance broadband access has
in today's bus industry," said Louis Preben Nezer, CEO of NZR. "Our winning
proposal included free Wi-Fi hotspots supported by revenue-generating
advertising; looking to the future, buses with broadband connections will
also be able to serve streaming media and other forms of passenger
information and entertainment material. MultiMesh is the gateway for this
type of dynamic content and we look forward to working with Meshhopper
Wireless on similar projects throughout the EU."