Surf for free onboard Hong Kong ferries
Passengers aboard Hong Kong's Central-Discovery Bay ferries can now enjoy free wireless broadband Internet access.
According to HKR International, the solution provider behind this initiative, the download speeds of the service goes up to 1.5 megabytes per second, which is 10 times faster than what one gets on General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) networks. It is also three times faster than 3G networks, the company claimed.
The backhaul network for Internet access are located at base stations between Discovery Bay and Pier 3 at Central, according to a company factsheet. A centralized access gateway enables wireless transmission between the base stations and ferries.
To surf the Internet, a passenger equipped with a notebook or PDA can obtain an IP address from the access gateway, and retains it throughout the entire ferry route.
The service supports applications such as Web browsing, email, instant messaging and e-banking.