In the UK, most people are faces with a pretty stark choice – you can either travel, or you can communicate reliably. The two rarely mix! Mobile phone coverage for voice and data is good in densely-populated areas, but as the passenger passes between these areas on trunk transport routes (motorways and railways), the signal usually fades away to nothing in unpopulated rural areas. Internet connection speeds whilst on the move are slow, and it is difficult to hold a mobile phone conversation for long before losing signal.

This project received key early-stage feasibility funding from the Technology Strategy Board to investigate innovative and cost-effective solutions to this problem, and is now being further developed – with extended trials due to start in Q2 2012.