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London Underground to Gain Full Mobile Phone Coverage by 2024

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London Underground passengers will be able to get mobile coverage across the rail network by the end of 2024, it has been announced.

transport-for-london.jpg

In a press release, Transport for London (TfL) said the capital's Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Bank stations would be among the first fully connected stations by the end of the year, followed by Tottenham Court Road, Euston, and Camden Town by the end of 2022.

Mobile reception was introduced on the eastern half of the Jubilee line in March last year. TfL says the additional infrastructure will support 5G as well as 4G, but that it will be the responsibility of mobile operators to offer support for the fastest network speeds.

The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, who was re-elected last month, said in a statement:
"I promised Londoners that if they re-elected me for a second term as mayor I would deliver 4G throughout the tube network. It's already up and running on the eastern half of the Jubilee line and I'm delighted to announce today that I am fulfilling that commitment and full internet access will be available across the tube, with key central London stations such as Oxford Circus and Euston set to benefit before the end of next year."
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TfL is partnering with BAI Communications (BAI), a global provider of 4G and 5G connected infrastructure, to plug so-called coverage "not-spots" in the underground network. The over 1,242 miles of fibre cabling installed in London Underground tunnels will also benefit above-ground coverage for buildings and other infrastructure by allowing more mobile transmitters to be installed.

Article Link: London Underground to Gain Full Mobile Phone Coverage by 2024
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/06/22/london-underground-full-mobile-coverage-by-2024/
Wait? there's no reception on some lines in the London Underground? How is that possible in 2021? Seems hard to believe.

Brussels underground, while smaller, has 3G coverage for probably over a decade now, and they rapidly introduced 4G when it became available as well. There’s also free WiFi in the stations.
 
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I’m shocked that Melbourne’s City Loop (yes I’m aware that the City Loop is tiny compared to the London Underground) has had phone reception before the London Underground. Well hopefully they upgrade the City Loop with 5G.
 
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Lozza013 said:
I’m shocked that Melbourne’s City Loop (yes I’m aware that the City Loop is tiny compared to the London Underground) has had phone reception before the London Underground. Well hopefully the upgrade the City Loop with 5G.
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When was the City Loop built? The Tube is incredibly old so updating any aspect of it is a nightmare, not to mention us Brits are ***** slow at EVERYTHING.
 
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hagar said:
Brussels underground, while smaller,
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I think this (along with the age, as others have mentioned) is a key point. Committing to build out this infrastructure across the whole network is a big undertaking for a big (and ageing) network!

There has been wifi in the stations for quite a few years - which has been useful, but also a bit of a pain. So this would be a welcome drag into the 21st century (for a network that, some of which, was first built in the middle of the 19th).
 
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I thought Transport For London announced this years ago?

In case some people here don't know, free WiFi is available through Virgin Media at stations, but you lose connection in-between stations. 4G/5G is available where trains are not in a tunnel (60% of the London Underground network is not underground). Some lines are all underground (eg. Victoria line) and some parts run pretty deep (eg. Northern line) so no connection, other than WiFI at stations. This will proposal will resolve that.

As for annoying phone noises, there hasn't been an increase when WiFi was introduced at stations. Also, nobody talks on the London Underground, so I doubt people will talk on phones when 3G/4G is available and everyone wears earphones.
 
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hagar said:
Wait? there's no reception on some lines in the London Underground? How is that possible in 2021? Seems hard to believe.

Brussels underground, while smaller, has 3G coverage for probably over a decade now, and they rapidly introduced 4G when it became available as well. There’s also free WiFi in the stations.
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Because the network is a hodge-podge of lines of various ages. Some, like the Central and Northern lines are so deep that if you want to add cellular equipment, it's been much more of a challenge. And don't get started on the absence of cooling...
 
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211 said:
I thought Transport For London announced this years ago?
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Khan promised it in his re-election bid (and work has already started).

211 said:
In case some people here don't know, free WiFi is available through Virgin Media at stations, but you lose connection in-between stations. 4G/5G is available where trains are not in a tunnel (60% of the London Underground network is not underground).
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35%, according to Wikipedia - but your point stands ;-)

211 said:
Some lines are all underground (eg. Victoria line) and some parts run pretty deep (eg. Northern line) so no connection, other than WiFI at stations. This will proposal will resolve that.
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Hopefully!

211 said:
As for annoying phone noises, there hasn't been an increase when WiFi was introduced at stations. Also, nobody talks on the London Underground, so I doubt people will talk on phones when 3G/4G is available and everyone wears earphones.
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You wouldn't be able to hear (or be heard) anyway - especially on the Northern Line!
 
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It's been over 150 years since the London Underground opened, just to provide some context. Most of it is extremely deep, much deeper than a lot of the modern metro systems in other cities. It already has wifi at all stations where you can connect to and call and talk like normal, due to wifi calling.

This news is welcome, although I fear that ringing phones will be quite the nuisance.
 
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We were supposed to get this a decade ago in time for the 2012 Olympics, but the project broke down after it was found to cost way more than expected and no one could agree who’d foot the bill. Instead we got WiFi in stations only until now.
 
Just so people have an idea what deep means, Hampstead station is 58m below pavement level, with lots of metal all around making the supply of reliable WiFi less than straightforward.

Having said that, I was in Kyiv in 2019 and visited Arselnalna station, which is 105m below ground. The escalators there are eyeopening.
 
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amaze1499 said:
Lucky Londoners. Not off the grid for 2 mins between stations.
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Many stations are miles apart, it’s not quite the same as a modern metro system in this respect.
hagar said:
Wait? there's no reception on some lines in the London Underground? How is that possible in 2021? Seems hard to believe.

Brussels underground, while smaller, has 3G coverage for probably over a decade now, and they rapidly introduced 4G when it became available as well. There’s also free WiFi in the stations.
Click to expand...

cube4ever said:
Readers from Japan like: Welcome to ~2012.
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The tube is like 150 years old, 60 meters deep, massive and absolutely a hodgepodge of different technologies from bygone eras.

Belgium is 50 years old and is much much smaller, Tokyo not even 100 years old either. Neither are anywhere near as deep, and have the tiny tunnels of the London Underground which gives it its nickname.
 
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