This might be the only time you’ll see be advocate for non-free WiFi, but here it is. Yes, I’ve been hoping that BC Ferries would get WiFi on the ferries for, umm, ten years now. Yes, I generally oppose paying for WiFi. However, now that BC Ferries has put WiFi in I think they missed a real chance to help BC Ferries corp put some revenue in their pockets.
Fine, at most you’d be able to be online for a little over an hour. And maybe BCF doesn’t want to charge for the system when they aren’t sure they can guarantee solid service, but I hope that they are going to do more than just limit your what and where when online:
While the service will be free, passengers will not be allowed to access streaming audio or video on the ferry WiFi network in order to save bandwidth, said Marshall. “We don’t really know how many customers will tap into it,” she said. “We imagine it will be quite popular.”
link: B.C. Ferries to offer free Wi-Fi; Swartz Bay route first up
How about an online-only coupon for a cafe or something. Get someone who might be just sitting down to work to grab a coffee? Or pay for WiFi and get free admission to the Sea West Lounge?
Or maybe the fact is that when there are a ton of people onboard, the quality of the bandwidth might be just a hair above dialup.
We’ll have to see. Of course I’m not planning a trip to the Island anytime soon. Though if BC Ferries wanted to have a bunch of techie bloggers on board for a round trip on them to test it out. I’d be game for a 3 hour tour back and forth across The Straight.
