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Icomera AB: West Midlands school buses get connected with Icomera Wi-Fi and GPS; The Green Bus deploys Moovbox broadband gateways across environment-friendly school bus fleet
(M2 PressWIRE Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
RDATE:13012009
Gothenburg, Sweden -- Icomera AB, the world's leading provider of
cellular broadband gateways, and The Green Bus, the emerging market
leader in school transport thinking in the UK, have announced the
deployment of free Internet access for students and real-time vehicle
tracking on twenty-three routes served by the Birmingham-based school
transport operator. The vehicles utilize Icomera's award-winning
Moovbox M Series mobile broadband gateway that provides Wi-Fi
connectivity on the move with actual download speeds in excess of two
megabits per second. The Green Bus vehicles also leverage the Moovbox
for GPS-based location, allowing parents to track a bus's progress in
real-time from any web browser. The Green Bus was established in 2005
by a former teacher and now operates environment-friendly bus services
for schools throughout the West Midlands. The company's eye-catching
double-decker buses carry over 1,400 children to and from school each
day - replacing an estimated two thousand car journeys in the process -
with routes designed to travel as close as possible to students' homes
and removing the need for passengers to change buses en route.
"We want to make the experience of travelling with us a positive one
for the new generation of tech-savvy school children," said Ian Mack,
Managing Director at The Green Bus. "With an increasing number of
mobile phones and handhelds supporting Wi-Fi, our investment in
Icomera's Moovbox enables students to check email, surf the web, and
play peer-to-peer games on devices like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS -
all free of charge. More importantly, the built-in GPS functionality of
the Moovbox means we can see where our buses are at any time; this
feature is being made available on our web site where parents and
school staff can securely log in and follow the progress of any
particular bus is during its journey via a familiar Google Maps
display."
The Wi-Fi service, which is free to all bus pass holders, has been
popular with students since its launch late last year with over 50% of
users spending more than 20 minutes online, and 25% using the service
more than five times. Research has shown that students prefer to travel
in the social atmosphere of bus rather than by car, while for parents
The Green Bus is more convenient, cost-effective and reduces peak-time
congestion outside schools.
"Across our Moovbox deployments worldwide Wi-Fi usage by students is
the next biggest demographic after business travelers," said Dave
Palmer, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Sales at Icomera. "The Green
Bus's commitment to providing Wi-Fi access to its school-age passengers
while leveraging the GPS capability for schedule adherence and parent
reassurance sets a new standard for other school bus service providers
to follow."
The Moovbox mobile gateway is a ruggedized Wi-Fi access point and
cellular router, offering multiple wide area network (WAN) radios for
automatic failover between carriers, and featuring built-in GPS for
real-time positioning. Moovbox products also offer secure Ethernet for
IP-CCTV, DVR and telematics equipment with remote in-bound access for
device control, and supports plug-and-play upgradability to future
technologies such as WiMAX and LTE. The multi-user MoovManage service
provides real-time device tracking, schedule adherence monitoring,
remote device configuration, and Wi-Fi portal and usage statistics.
More information is available online at www.icomera.com.
About Icomera AB
Established in 1999, Icomera is the world's leading provider of
cellular broadband gateways delivering Internet connectivity for
passenger transport, public safety and enterprise applications. Icomera
technology bridges wide-area cellular networks such as 3G/HSPA and
WiMAX with local Wi-Fi and Ethernet access. Icomera's award-winning
Moovbox devices are deployed on rail, road and sea serving millions of
Wi-Fi connections, and providing real-time high-speed access for fleet
tracking and mission critical on-board systems. Icomera reported over
3.7 million sessions by over one million passengers in the twelve
months to October 31st 2008 on its in-vehicle Moovbox systems
worldwide, a 272% increase over the period. Icomera is headquartered in
Sweden with offices in the United Kingdom, and channel partners
worldwide.
About The Green Bus
Established in 2005, The Green Bus is a Birmingham-based business that
aims to deliver modal shift. Its core expertise is in the education
sector: The Green Bus' aim is to reduce the number of car journeys to
schools by providing parents and pupils with a high-quality
alternative. Ian Mack, its Managing Director, has backgrounds in retail
(with BAA plc), in public transport and in teaching: with The Green
Bus, his aim is to achieve sustained business growth and modal shift by
delivering excellent customer service. It is expected that The Green
Bus will appear in Berkshire, and at community schools in the West
Midlands in a joint project with Centro, from September 2009. Having
spent a number of years developing The Green Bus product, and having
delivered significant modal shift in a number of schools, the company
is now positioned to roll its model out across the UK and beyond.
Copyright 2009 Icomera AB. All Rights Reserved
CONTACT: Icomera AB
WWW: http://www.icomera.com
((M2 Communications Ltd disclaims all liability for information
provided within M2 PressWIRE. Data supplied by named party/parties.
Further information on M2 PressWIRE can be obtained at
http://www.presswire.net on the world wide web. Inquiries to
info@m2.com)).
Copyright ? 2009 M2 Communications Ltd.
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