Wi-Fi in the London underground could be a reality as early as June 2012. With the Olympics quickly approaching, the Tube is encouraging companies to bid to install a Wi-Fi network in 120 stations. Transport for London has announced it will select a company before the end of the year.
It’s thanks to a successful trial at the Charing Cross station that the TFL is moving forward with its plans to expand Wi-Fi throughout the underground system. The Charing Cross trial, equipped by internet provider BT, began in November and allows underground passengers to access the internet from the platforms and ticket hall, but not on the trains themselves.
When surveyed by the TFL, more than half of underground passengers said Wi-Fi in the stations would improve their experience and some expressed a hope that the system would be expanded to all underground stations, and not just the selected 120.
Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, has this to say: “The rollout of Wi-Fi technology across the platforms and public areas of our Tube stations will finally allow Londoners to use mobile devices to pick up their emails, access social media sites and stay in touch with the world above while they traverse our subterranean transport network.”
