London Taxis Could Receive Free Wi-Fi Hotspots In Early 2013

Cabs really haven't changed much over the years. Sure, some of them now accept credit cards, and some of them arrive when you hail via your smartphone, but by and large things are mostly the same as they always have been. But now, it feels like the future is finally catching up with the taxi business. The city of London already has a growing network of free Wi-Fi hotspots, but taking them into the cab would certainly be a new approach. Reportedly, Eyetease has secured approval to equip taxis with Wi-Fi antennas that would give riders 15 minutes of gratis Internet for sitting through a 15 second advertisement.

The antenna will hop between 3G and 4G towers as the vehicle moves about, in theory providing a rather stable connection to catch up on e-mail and perhaps send an Instagram picture from wherever they are. If all goes well, it'll get going in early 2013, and hopefully it'll spread to other cabs and cities in due time.