If you happen to be one of those who cannot be away from Broadband/Internet for even a nano-second, there is some good news. RayStat, a Virginia based company has come-up with an antenna technology (called SpeedRay) that delivers broadband to your vehicles via satellite broadband connections. While this is not new – RVs and other larger vehicles can still get satellite broadband – the company is working on a new small foot print version of its SpeedRay antenna, that will make it work in say your Honda Accord. The company hopes that automakers will build the antenna right into the car. RayStat had first developed the antenna – EagleRay – for European trains, and more recently announced SpeedRay, which also has a built-in 802.11g hub. The download speed of upto 2 megabits/second and upload speeds of 128 kbps are supported by this antenna for now. The company’s technology was good enough for investors such as Apax Partners to pump $27 million into the company. The company has raised a total of around $37 million thus far.
This delivery system would appear to be a real threat to Sirius and XMR satellite radio systems. Why pay 12.50 a month when you can get much more free, such as the incredible BBC stations and just about all the Infinity AM stations?
That would be nice, it ever happened. unfortunately that is not wht is going to be deployed. i think car makers get too much cash from the satellite radio folks to screw it up. but the idea is pretty intriguing ..