FRANK'S FANCY LINCOLN HAS EVERYTHING A ROAD warrior could want: plush leather seats, extra legroom and a sleek fold-down desk that can be positioned just so. There's a bottle of spring water in the cup holder to my left and a pile of individually wrapped Life Savers under the armrest. A screen suspended from the ceiling is playing a DVD. But here's the real perk of this ride: I can surf the Web on my laptop from the back-seat of this automobile while Frank, the driver, takes me wherever I want to go.
I'm online thanks to a wireless hub in the trunk, a silver dollar-size antenna mounted behind my head and the wi-fi card built into my computer (an X40 mininotebook from IBM). It's just like jumping online at Starbucks, and it lets me go wild multitasking--catching up on e-mail and otherwise staying productive while in transit. Rarely am I trapped at a coffee shop, concerned that my workday is slipping away, but the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway can kill an entire afternoon.
Carey International, which owns Frank's limo, has been testing mobile wireless hot spots in half a dozen of its custom sedans in four cities since the spring, and customers love it, according to CEO Devin Murphy. For now, the cost for the service is included in the standard fare; soon the company hopes to launch "Mobile Office," designed by In Motion Technology, across more of its fleet. First, however, it needs to figure out the business details, Murphy says. It costs $1,000 to $2,000 to equip each car, an investment predicated on an iffy business model. But Murphy wants to be out in front with the technology. "We definitely think we're ahead of the curve," he says proudly.
He's not the only one who sees mobile wi-fi as a way to drive customer satisfaction. Wi-fi services are popping up on planes, trains, buses and ferries as operators seek to meet the growing demand for anytime, anywhere Internet access--and to gain a competitive edge. Analysts expect "wi-fi in motion"--a variation on the kind of hot spot that's been sprouting up in airports, hotels, coffee shops and truck stops--to be widely available in just a few years.
For quite a while, airline passengers have been able to surf the Web via in-flight phones. But airlines embracing wifi aim to make Web surfing more practical. Last May Lufthansa introduced a high-speed wi-fi Internet service called FlyNet on flights between Los Angeles and Munich. Its Charlotte, N.C.--Munich and San Francisco--Munich routes will have it by the end of the year, and the airline wants its entire fleet equipped within two years. Scandinavian, Singapore and at least half a dozen other airlines have announced plans to follow suit.