Chapter 65. EAST VAN HALEN pages 281 - 285
"She opened her PowerBook on the counter of Bigend's crypto-kitchen, taking wifi for granted."
Chapter 65. EAST VAN HALEN
Bigend calls Hollis to tell her that he believes Bobby is in Vancouver to "monitor the off-loading, though not for the shippers" and that Hollis and Odile have the best chance of finding him. Hollis then takes the Phaeton to the address given to her by Bobby's sister. Uncomfortable about lying to Bigend about meeting Sarah, Hollis calls him back to tell him that she is standing near where she might find Bobby [near Clark Street as Bigend tells her from monitoring the GPS signal in the "crypto-luxurious" car]. [515 characters]
eCall combined GPS and mobile phone devices are meant to be fitted to all new motor vehicles in the European Union from 2009, supposedly for "emergency services" use in case of a road accident. The downside is that the system will effectively track your vehicle's location for the vast majority of the time which does not involve an accident where you are unconscious.
"taking wifi for granted" is easy to do in, say, London or New York, or presumably Vancouver, but it is still nowhere near as ubiquitous as mobile phone coverage.