Ooh là là! You’ll soon be able to do some last-minute brushing-up on your français on board the Eurostar as EE and Vodafone bring 4G and 3G to the Channel Tunnel.
By this summer, EE promises high-speed data on the high-speed train — an improvement which would have made the last fifteen minutes of Mission: Impossible very different.
The trip under the English Channel takes around 35 minutes and dives 100 metres below sea level, with cars and lorries boarding the Eurotunnel shuttle and passengers getting comfy on the Eurostar train and trying not to think about Paris syndrome. Business travellers can catch up on emails or run through the Henderson presentation one more time, while sightseers can download a phrasebook or search out where the Amélie cafe is (it’s in Montmartre and it’s a bit of a let-down).
EE promises 4G on the full length of the journey — the world’s longest undersea tunnel — while the North Running Tunnel carrying you from Blighty to France will also soon benefit from 2G and 3G coverage. French networks Bouygues Telecom, Orange and SFR already provide coverage in the South Running Tunnel. 3G will be available in March, just in time for you to say “Bonjour Paris.”
Have you signed up to 4G? Would you like your network to sort out 3G in your local never mind under the Channel? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.