FORTHnet, Minoan Lines introduce wireless Internet access on ferries
Fixed telephony and Internet service provider FORTHnet has designed and is introducing to Minoan Lines ships complete wireless broadband access to the World Wide Web at sea, applied for the first time internationally in passenger shipping. The company has already completed the Wi-Fi technology infrastructure and offers wireless access in public spaces aboard the high-speed ferries Knossos Palace and Icarus Palace. It is also implementing «FORTHnet HotSpots,» which are wireless broadband access points, in the rest of the Minoan Lines fleet. For the first time in the world’s passenger shipping, Wi-Fi technology is being exploited in such a way that the existing Internet satellite circuit becomes accessible from any spot on ships, making every common space a potential wireless broadband access point, available to every passenger or crew member. With this pioneering solution, every person traveling aboard Minoan Lines ships will be able to make the most of their time productively or just for recreation, using their own appliance (palm tops, laptops, etc). As Panos Papadopoulos, FORTHnet’s general director, said, «the complete Wi-Fi solution at sea which we have designed and are setting up for Minoan Lines, is a typical example of the ability of wireless Internet to offer a range of applications that can make our everyday lives so much better and, among other things, save us time, the most valuable commodity nowadays.»
