Startup to put Wi-Fi in cars

US soon, Europe late this year

A US company is offering to equip cars with Wi-Fi hotspots so that passengers can stay connected in transit without needing to plug cellular data cards into their PCs and other devices.

San Francisco-based startup Autonet Mobile will charge $399 for its Autonet Mobile Unit and an additional $49-per-month service charge. The service works by embedding a 3G radio in a Wi-Fi router that plugs into the car’s cigarette-lighter socket, which allows the connections to be maintained even when the car is being driven. Autonet claims to have patent-pending technology to maintain session management so that the link is not dropped when moving between communications towers.

In a complementary statement, car rental giant Avis is expected to announce that it will offer the Autonet service for $11 a day from the first half of this year. The Avis agreement could also help Autonet in its plans to penetrate the European market at the end of 2007. Another route to market will be car dealerships that offer Autonet as an optional extra.

Autonet is aiming the service at business travellers as well as families. Multiple users can stay connected without incurring extra charges.

“We wanted to make the car cool again,” said Autonet chief executive Sterling Pratz. “40 percent of SUVs sold in the US have media players but none of them have internet. This is a personal network that lets you maintain the same personal environment wherever you are.”