NEC Develops Super Shinkansen WLAN
NEC Corp. has just done something for wireless communications speeds, but possibly not in the way you were expecting. Local media has reported that NEC has just developed a WLAN/ 3G/ PHS technology capable of automatically roaming to find connections for passengers on board Japan’s shinkansen bullet trains.
According to a report in today’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the technology allows passengers to get uninterrupted connectivity on Japan’s famous bullet trains.
While Japan’s shinkansen are chocked with groovy communications technologies, including phased array radars built by Mitsubishi Electric (who also build the phased array radars trying to find out what North Korean Kim Jong Ill is hiding up his nuclear sleeve), wireless communications services on the otherwise splendid and supersleek bullet trains has, to date, been frankly, patchy.
NEC claims that its new WLAN technology automatically roams (hunts?) for any sort of decent connectivity it can find with 3G, WLAN etc. networks.
— WWJ Editors.