Internet now available in majority of world’s major subway systems

A comprehensive new survey of global subway systems shows that passengers on most of the world’s large underground systems can access the wireless Internet when they travel.
March 23, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
A comprehensive new survey of global subway systems shows that passengers on most of the world’s large underground systems can access the wireless Internet when they travel. This survey, conducted in October 2011, covers 121 global cities of more than 750,000 people with an underground subway or metro system. Access to the mobile Internet is an essential component of the smart in ‘smart city’: this is how people connect to one another and to the services they need. NCF chose to focus on commuting because this is a significant part of most people’s day in big cities but one where there is a clear divide between on and offline.

The study shows the highest availability of mobile data services is in South Korea and China, where users can connect to the Internet in 100 per cent of major subway systems. Overall, Asian commuters can go online in 84 per cent of major subways, compared to 56 per cent in the EU and 41 per cent in the US and Canada. The lowest rate is in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, at 25 per cent.

According to Mathieu Lefevre, executive director of the NCF, “This study helps paint a new map of the world, where technological divides are not where you think. For instance, it says a lot that Asian commuters can check their email and read the news in more than 80 per cent of the region’s subway systems, compared to just half than in North America’.
Networking & Communication Systems

Related Content

  • High-mileage drivers more dismissive value of speed cameras, says survey
    July 27, 2015
    High-mileage drivers are more likely than any other type of road user to think speed cameras have ‘little or no influence’ in reducing the numbers of road casualties in the UK, according to a white paper issued by the Institute of Advanced Motorists’ (IAM) Drive and Survive division. The paper, Speed Cameras – The Views of High Mileage Drivers, also found 28 per cent of high-mileage drivers have a negative view of speed cameras – 10 per cent more than other drivers. It also found that more than half o
    Read More
  • ADAS ‘fastest growing sector’ in automotive field
    July 7, 2015
    According to the latest research by RnR Market Research, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) has been one of the fastest-growing sectors in automotive field and is expected to register a CAGR of 32 per cent during 2014-2019. Currently, developed countries in Europe and America have had nearly eight per cent of new vehicles equipped with ADAS, in contrast to about two per cent in emerging markets. It is predicted that over 25 per cent of new vehicles will carry ADAS by 2019 globally. The Global a
    Read More
  • Technology and finance shapes up to make MaaS happen
    June 7, 2017
    The technology and finance aspects needed for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to become widely adopted are taking shape as Geoff Hadwick and Colin Sowman hear. Sampo Hietanen, CEO of MaaS Global and ‘father’ of MaaS, started his address to ITS International’s recent MaaS Market conference in London by saying: “All of the problems that can be solved by a company or group of companies have already been solved, and now we are left with the big ones such as housing, transport and health. He called MaaS the “Netfli
    Read More
  • Trafi aims for Lat Am MaaS attack
    March 25, 2021
    MaaS firm has signed deal in Colombian capital Bogotá and promises more in South America
    Read More

Highlighted Content