CORK-BASED Butlers Buses has become the latest in a growing number of private coach companies to offer internet access to customers in transit.

Other coach firms, including JJ Kavanaghs, Aircoach, Go Bus and Matthews Coaches, already offer internet access using WiFi technology, which effectively restricts the service to laptop users.

Butlers Buses chose Bluetooth short-range wireless technology to be able to offer access to passengers with mobile phones in addition to offering WiFi. Both options are available at no cost.

Ian Butler, managing director of Butlers Buses, said younger passengers or tourists would be more likely to avail of the Bluetooth service over their mobile phones, with business customers preferring to use their laptops.

Signage on the coach headrests will remind passengers to switch on their phone’s Bluetooth setting and prompt them to download a custom web browser to allow them to read websites, check e-mails or send instant messages.

Each coach will be connected to the internet via a 3G antenna located on the roof. Access speeds will vary according to mobile network coverage up to a theoretical maximum of 7.2Mbps. The router on the bus can handle up to 42 users simultaneously.

“When you are browsing on a mobile phone the download speed is going to be very quick because it’s mostly text, with no images,” said Kevin O’Connor, managing director of Bluezone Media, which supplied the technology to Butlers Buses.

The Bluetooth service is initially restricted to sites such as Facebook, RTÉ, Freetext, Flickr and Wikipedia, with considerations for websites with pages specifically tailored for mobile phone screens.

“We can customise the service,” said Mr Butler. “Once we approve of a site and it is compatible with a mobile phone, then that can be added as well.”

Butlers Buses may seek to earn revenue from the service through advertising, said Mr Butler. “For example, we could tie it into a tourist attraction, pubs or restaurants with a discount voucher.”