Customers at over 120 railway stations in France will soon be able access free Wi-Fi whilst waiting for their train to arrive, the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) has announced.
According to connexionfrance.com, Lille-Flandres and Avignon stations will be piloting the Wi-Fi service next month and it is hoped that another 40 stations will be connected before the end of June this year.
Rachel Picard, director general of Gares & Connexions, an SNCF branch which is responsible for the maintenance and development of France’s stations, said the universal free Wi-Fi scheme for railways stations would be a first for Europe.
“The 128 largest French stations will be connected by February 2015,” she explained, adding that the service will be self-sustainable, as advertising will provide the finance needed to maintain the service.
“The goal for us is that it will be free for the traveller. There should not be any additional cost to the station, but the system will finance itself.”
At the beginning of each Wi-Fi session, users will have to watch an advert before gaining access to the internet, reports telecompaper.com. Nomosphère will be rolling out and managing the network and WiFi Metropolis will be in charge of advertising.
