What if you could enjoy the same type of wireless Internet access that you enjoy at home or the office inside your car, always on and ready to connect with your portable electronics? Imagine the new-and-improved family road trip in a vehicle where all of your gadget-toting co-pilots can connect to the Internet simultaneously. Mom or dad can use a laptop from the passenger's seat to read reviews about places to stay or eat, find scenic points of interest on live up-to-date maps, and even blog about the trip. Meanwhile in the backseat, kids can purchase new songs on their WiFi-equipped MP3 players, download new titles for their e-book readers, play live online games and upload photos from the trip to their Facebook pages with their WiFi-enabled digital camera. Clark Griswold would be jealous. 

Mobile Internet

Cellular phone providers are blanketing a growing number of the nation's city streets, suburban boulevards and back roads with high-speed Internet. However, using your Web-thirsty personal electronics in the car can be a challenge. Though most major cell phone carriers provide access their network’s high-speed mobile broadband service (often referred to as “3G”) on equipped laptops or cell phones, you can only access the Internet on the device itself.  So what do you do if you have a whole car full of passengers who need to access the Internet simultaneously? Just like at home, you’ll need a wireless network.

WiFi in the Car

One of the very first consumer-focused, mobile Internet products to hit the road is actually from an automaker; a surprise considering that they are typically late to the party when new technology launches.  Chrysler's new "UConnect Web" is a dealer-installed accessory that uses a 3G mobile broadband router to create a wireless network inside select 2009 and newer Chrysler vehicles.   It's aimed at individuals and families on the go, and it's available now.  Electronics manufacturers such as Cradlepoint and Top Global USA offer similar functionality in an aftermarket product, although neither company is actively marketing their solutions for in-car consumer use yet.  Several home networking manufacturers sell home routers that accept mobile broadband cards, and in all likelihood more in-vehicle solutions will appear from these and other mobile electronics companies later in the year.

Networking Opportunities

Internet in the car is more than just roadtripping entertainment for backseat drivers. Future applications include "smart" navigation systems that can access real-time data like maps, points-of-interest and real-time traffic. There are also several safety-oriented intelligent transportation solutions on the not-so-distant horizon where car-to-car and road-to-car networks can alert drivers of emergency braking and other traffic conditions immediately ahead.

For now, new in-vehicle broadband Internet solutions are letting passengers and their devices share the information superhighway while traveling the nation’s more literal superhighways. Stay tuned as 3G mobile broadband and up-and-coming WiMAX technology bring Internet to more and more mile markers, and manufacturers launch more in-car Internet solutions to keep us connected as we travel.

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