On the 6th December 2012, a TechCity based start-up has received approval by the Transport for London to roll-out their new high speed wifi service in the iconic London black cab. Ranked in the top 100 UK startups, Eyetease Limited (www.eyetease.com) has spent over 2 years championing this new proposition in London, which provides drivers and passengers with free access to high speed wifi whilst on the move.
The free wifi service, named CabWifi™, uses a unique “ads-for-access” model, prompting passengers to watch a short 15 second advert before gaining access to 15 minutes of internet access. Drivers, with a separate login are also able to benefit from the service and off-set the high cost of data charges incurred from using taxi apps, which some drivers claim have doubled their phone bills in recent months.
Founder and CEO, Richard Corbett, mentions “this is really great news for London. With dwell times averaging 15 minutes in the back of a taxi, what better way to pass the time than to use your laptop, tablet, book reader or phone with guilt free internet access. Tourists and business travellers can now access their emails, talk on Skype or surf the web without the fear of being hit with high data roaming charges when they return home!” Corbett also adds “the London taxi drivers are without doubt the best in the world and Eyetease is really proud to launch this new service here in London first”.
Eyetease is already in progressed conversations with several major consumer brands (including a global credit card company and a leading mobile phone manufacturer) to sponsor the roll-out of CabWifi network which is expected to begin in early 2013.
And if you thought that was enough, Eyetease is also in the process of approving another exciting and disruptive technology in London, named the iTaxitop™. An evolution to the New York “taxitop” concept, the iTaxitop is the first digital rooftop advertising solution to be presented to the city of London – enabling ads, news and public information to be updated wirelessly and broadcast across double sided digital screens with geographic and time specific accuracy. Following 3 years of development and over a quarter of million investment, Eyetease is determined to champion this new format in London, which it hopes will be trialed in early 2013, pending Transport for London approval.
