Heathrow Express to get connected with wi-fi

All Heathrow Express trains will be wi-fi enabled by early 2007, providing broadband access to passengers for the entire journey.

The wi-fi offering, to be provided by T-Mobile, will enable passengers to access the internet at speeds of up to 8Mbps via WiMax and HSDPA technology en route to the world's busiest international airport.

Jay Saw, hotspot manager at T-Mobile UK, told silicon.com wi-fi users will be required to buy an access pass to get online, with rates starting at £5 for 60 minutes.

Paying too much for wi-fi?

Check out silicon.com's Business Traveller Guide for the skinny on London hotel wi-fi.

This pass can be used on the Heathrow Express or at more than 200 T-Mobile hotspot locations within London.

Saw said email synchronisation is "where we will get the majority of service" with 85 per cent of the current usage of T-Mobile hotspots going to people organising their inboxes.

He added the service could be deployed on other trains and T-Mobile is "in active conversations with other rail operators".

Saw said the wi-fi system will only be available in early 2007 because it has taken time to build and requires a huge amount of paperwork to put wi-fi on a train, compared with installing, for example, wi-fi in a Starbucks.