The 15-minute journey from Paddington Station in London to Heathrow will have Internet service: At first glance, this seems a little odd, T-Mobile's new offering of 8 Mbps downstream Internet access for a mere 15-minute ride. But it's part and parcel of building an expectation for high-speed service everywhere, especially at key transit junctures. T-Mobile subscribers who fly frequently will make use of this link-up; others will pony up when they find it useful; still others will pay the hourly rate of £5 for service. (A day pass at £10 works through T-Mobile UK's network.) T-Mobile told several news outlets that they expect that travelers will use that brief period to do one last email refresh, although Heathrow itself has four separate Wi-Fi providers, with varying amounts of terminal coverage. The 15-minute ride is £26 round trip in couch and £44 in first class, with trains leaving every 15 minutes. I imagine this compares favorably to the availability and reliability of ground transportation, and the cost of a taxi.
It compares favourably with a taxi, but the tube (underground) fare is UKP 3.50, from any station in central London, for a journey that takes 30 min to an hour depending where you start.
I would have thought the train operator would have done better to offer free Wi-Fi to help justify the high ticket cost.