While the functionality tests are running in the background, in the „test-bed“ of the WLAN hardware delivered in December 2010 by the company Briteline from Bremen, there are quite other construction sites in respect to the „WLAN info-terminals“. The project management is in the tendering process for various structural and civil engineering services for the stationing of the WLAN info-terminals at two bus station locations.

The two planned bus stations are „Havenwelten“ and „Hochschule“ both located along the central bus line 502. Many expected difficulties were encountered along the way, after all a city is a constructed area, not only above ground but also underground. This explicitly means that the wiring for the info-terminals could not be laid everywhere and that beforehand an exact inspection was necessary. Gas, water, canalization, the civil engineering committee of the city must meet and the project must have the official permission from the municipal construction office.

The newly planned locations for the WLAN info-terminals were presented to the civil engineering committee of the city for review. In the November 2010 meeting the new locations were approved with limitations. Taking the objections into consideration, a work over of the new location plans is currently being revised by an architect office. The stationing of the WLAN info-terminals can only be commissioned after the final permission is issued. Respective architect offers have been available since February 2011 these were again specified and commissioned the beginning of March.

At the end of March 2011 the national tendering process for awarding the contract to a construction company began. The tendering period was set for mid April 2011 in order to evaluate the offers and sign the contract for the stationing of the terminals. After this the available WLAN hardware can be built in and the outdoor-use tested.

In May 2011 the operational test of the bus line 502 along the reference route in Bremerhaven with two WLAN info-terminal bus stops will start. Essentially testing will focus on which data volumes, which data formats such as picture and text files, in which time span at the bus stops – interface WLAN info-terminal and oncoming, stopping and departing buses – can be transmitted.

The new WLAN info-terminals were acquired for the European Bus Systems of the Future (EBSF) project, the 7th research program of the EU, the WLAN hard- and software applications for the data transmission are components of the Interreg IVB North Sea Region project Smart Cities.