In-vehicle WIFI refers to a business model that uses communication technologies such as 2G/3G/4G/5G to convert to Wi-Fi and wireless RF, loads special equipment on vehicles (buses, buses, private cars, subways, trains and cruise ships), provides wireless routers with WiFi hotspot function, and enables various terminals to wirelessly access the Internet to obtain information, entertainment or mobile office.
2.3 how to use car WIFI
In-car WiFi hotspots are used in the same way as ordinary WiFi hotspots. For example, when we take a train or bus, there will be a WIFI icon and corresponding text prompts in the carriage. We only need to connect personal computers, handheld devices (such as PADs and mobile phones) and other terminal devices to the wireless network, find the corresponding car WiFi signal and connect. After making simple settings according to the page prompts, you can surf the Internet for free, which greatly facilitates people's travel online needs.
2.4 Hardware requirements for vehicle-mounted WIFI construction
Bus vehicles have strict hardware requirements for on-board WIFI devices:
In-vehicle Wi-Fi devices are different from consumer mobile WiFi devices. Vehicle-mounted Wi-Fi equipment must work in high-speed, high-temperature and vibration environment, which puts forward stricter requirements for the stability, sensitivity and resistance to harsh environment of the equipment:
Seismic grade: triple seismic (seismic structure design, effectively alleviating external impact)
Working temperature range: -45℃~ 105℃ (tropical climate in Africa and cold weather in Russia can work normally).
Fire rating: B 1 flame retardant.
Waterproof grade: IP_5
Dustproof grade: IP_5
Number of AP visits/sites (number of online users at the same time): According to the vehicle size, it is divided into 10-20 people and 20-50 people, and even some large equipment can carry hundreds of people online at the same time.
Operating system: customized embedded Linux system.
Wi-Fi features: * * *
Note: If it is used by ordinary private cars, the hardware requirements will be greatly reduced. As long as there is a micro wireless router (which needs to support the insertion of mobile phone sim card) and simple settings, a wireless hotspot can be formed for many people in the car to wirelessly access the Internet.
2.5 Development Status of Car WIFI
Under the social background supported by national policies, in-vehicle WIFI has developed rapidly. By the beginning of 20 16, most provinces in China have started to build wireless cities, and most provinces have completed the preliminary project construction. These cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Qingdao, Wuhan, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Wuhu, Chengdu, Luoyang, Leshan, Qinhuangdao and other 1-2 cities, and even some third-tier cities have begun to appear public transport equipped with car WIFI.
2.6 the experience of using WIFI in public transportation.
After the development in recent years, what is the experience of car-mounted WIFI based on public transport system, and can it meet the basic Internet demand? The author expresses his views on his own experience.
I used to travel a lot, and many trains provided free WIFI signals, but the experience after access was not ideal, very unstable and often dropped. Some people may say that the network disconnection may be related to the high-speed running of the train, but many buses in my city are also equipped with WIFI devices. In the case of low-speed running in urban areas, there is still a widespread phenomenon of slow and unstable network speed, which leads to an extremely bad experience.
Why is there such a problem? Let me talk about its principle first. In-vehicle WIFI systems based on public transportation all receive signals (usually 3G/4G signals) from fixed base stations on the ground through special equipment. There are many base stations, and the vehicle will automatically search for the base station with the best signal and switch connections during driving. Because of the relatively high speed of vehicles, they will often encounter the need for base station handover. In the process of switching, it can be understood that the network connection is closed, which is reflected in the appearance that the network speed is slow and the page cannot be opened. Moreover, if the maximum number of users of vehicle-mounted equipment is limited, but there are many users who want to access the Internet, there will also be a phenomenon of being unable to access the Internet for a long time. In addition, due to the limited bandwidth allocated by the communication company to the in-vehicle equipment, the more people use it, the slower the network speed, which is the same as using WIFI at home.
However, some car-mounted WIFI devices have built-in supporting local servers, which will store some entertainment audio and video materials. If users directly visit and watch these videos, they are basically smooth and there will not be too many jams. However, due to the high seismic requirements of local servers, they generally only appear on some trains, and ordinary buses are rare. It is believed that with the development of seismic technology, more and more public transport vehicles will be equipped with local server equipment.
2.7 private car car WIFI experience
As mentioned above, it is relatively easy for private cars to realize on-board WIFI. If you don't have high requirements, you don't need to buy special equipment to realize the WIFI function. Nowadays, many smart phones support the WIFI hotspot function. Just turn on the 3G/4G network of the mobile phone and turn the mobile phone into a wireless router through its own WIFI hotspot function. However, the fever of the mobile phone will be significantly improved, and the power will drop faster. This method is actually good for dealing with temporary emergencies, but for a better experience, it is recommended to buy special equipment, which is more stable after all.
At present, such devices are basically wireless routers that can install mobile phone SIM cards. Power is supplied to the router through the cigarette lighter, and the router can start automatically as soon as the vehicle starts. Advantages are less heating, stable performance, low price (basically the same as ordinary wireless routers), and can carry more users to access at the same time (although the car can only carry a few people every day).
I have experienced this kind of equipment, and the speed of searching for connected WIFI signals is very fast. The signal is stable when the vehicle is stationary or at low speed, and the speed is ideal when 2-5 users access. There is no phenomenon that the webpage cannot be opened because it is stuck. However, once driving at a high speed to a zone with weak mobile phone signal, there will still be phenomena such as slow network speed or even disconnection.
In fact, this is the same as the effect of direct internet access by mobile phone. When we drive at high speed by car, we will encounter the phenomenon of slow network speed.
2.8 the current problems of car WIFI
At present, there are two main problems in car WIFI: unstable signal and insufficient bus coverage.
There are two main ways to solve signal instability. One is to increase the capacity expansion rate of base stations, and operators will give more stable signal supply sources and higher dedicated bandwidth. Second, by upgrading the hardware and algorithm of the vehicle-mounted WIFI device, the base station can be switched faster and the waiting time can be reduced.
The coverage of public transport equipment is not wide enough, so it can only be supported by the government. Contact relevant equipment suppliers and invest more special funds for infrastructure construction, thus covering more public transport vehicles. In the order of development, priority can be given to the environment where more people use buses and trains, and secondly, in-vehicle WIFI coverage can be realized in taxis in a timely manner.
2.9 Discussion on Civil Vehicle WIFI Products
Due to the increase in market demand, the current civilian-grade car WIFI market is still relatively hot. There are various price devices on the market, ranging from tens of yuan to several thousand yuan, with diverse functions. High-end devices can not only realize basic wifi functions, but also derive many other functions. Let's briefly describe the typical product features of each price point.
2.9. 1 Basic Edition
The typical characteristics of basic equipment are single function, reliability and stability, and low price.
Common products on the market are basically the same in appearance, basically in the shape of a U disk, with a built-in SIM card interface and two channels networked:
1: You can directly connect your laptop to the Internet;
2. You can also plug in the USB interface to open the WIFI mode for multi-person Internet access.
Note: In general, WIFI mode and direct notebook mode cannot be used at the same time;
The price is basically around 100-300 yuan.
Support Unicom, mobile and telecom 2G/3G/4G signal access (but generally not compatible with multiple mobile phone cards at the same time);
If you buy it, you need to choose the corresponding version according to the standard of your mobile phone flow card.
Advanced edition
The advanced version is mainly characterized by WIFI hotspots (generally, direct connection of laptops is no longer provided), and the signal is stable. It can not only be used in cars, but also temporarily set up office networks in hotels, restaurants and other places, and generally supports the full-band signal access of Unicom Telecom.
It has a square shape and is about the size of a bus card. No longer provide direct connection for notebooks, but send and receive signals in the form of built-in rechargeable battery or USB power supply.
Some products can be used as emergency mobile power supply;
The price is around 300-500 yuan.
Support more simultaneous online users, and multi-user use is more stable.
Advanced edition
The advanced version covers more functions, and even different models have different special equipment. Generally, traffic mobile phone cards will be given at random. Some models have large LCD screens, which can be directly used as navigators, audio-visual players, car Bluetooth, radios, and even some devices can monitor car conditions in real time.
The appearance is similar to the size of a navigator, and it needs external power support. Personally, I feel that this is not a pure car WIFI device. I can only say that WIFI is just one of his many functions.
The price is around 500- 1500.
2. 10 Future Development of Civil Car WIFI
The application rate of ordinary car WIFI is still relatively low, because for most people, it is enough to set up hot spots to surf the Internet directly with mobile phones without professional equipment.
Business people will use it more, and the scene is not necessarily in a private car. When hotels, restaurants and other places need many people to work face to face, they need more professional equipment to build a WIFI environment.
Buyers of high-end car WIFI basically don't come for the WIFI function, and WIFI is just an additional function. Of course, we don't understand the world of local tyrants. Maybe it's not impossible for someone to spend thousands of dollars for WIFI function.
Personally, I hope that the civilian-grade vehicle-mounted WIFI equipment will develop towards the road of high integration, strong compatibility, hardware and algorithm upgrade, stability and rich functions. It would be best if the price could be greatly reduced.
3 abstract
Because the pace of Internet development in China started late, there is still a certain distance between infrastructure construction and more developed countries. Today, mobile Internet access is the main trend, and the development of car WIFI is particularly important, but fortunately, we have begun to make some attempts. I believe that with the economic development and social progress, this field will advance by leaps and bounds, and the day when WIFI is everywhere will come soon.