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London (pte026/16.02.2005/11:45) - British mobile users that commute to work will soon be able to write e-mails and surf the internet on the train. As the Media Guardian http://www.mediaguardian.co.uk reports, mobile phone company T-Mobile http://www.t-mobile.co.uk has put broadband internet access points along the line from Brighton to London and has wired up a fleet of trains to allow laptops to use wi-fi broadband over the air service while on board. In specially designated carriages, anyone with a device that uses wi-fi, which is standard on most new laptops, will be able to connect to the internet. According to the company, the service should even work in tunnels.
Wi-fi internet access is standard in many stationary locations such as coffee shops, bars, hotels and airports, but the London-to-Brighton line will be the first high-speed broadband route in Britain. T-Mobile said it would start a free trial of the service next month with a full launch in the summer. If it is a success, the company plans to introduce it on other routes. For T-Mobile, wi-fi is part of its plans to persuade consumers and business people to stay connected and spend money while on the move.
The announcement yesterday at the 3GSM world congress mobile phone trade show in Cannes went hand in hand with the group's strategy outline for the future. According to Rene Obermann, T-Mobile's chief executive, the days of free or very cheaper handsets for customers using pay-as-you-go are very limited. The company believes it should reward customers who stay loyal rather than encouraging churn by subsidising handsets to make them cheaper for new customers. "The focus of mobile has to shift firmly to encouraging new uses and new usage, and to building customer loyalty and customer lifetime value," said Obermann. "To do this, mobile should become simpler. Tariffs should be fairer. Pre-pay subsidy should go and roaming rates should be simpler and more attractive."
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