London underground passengers to be able to make phone calls from next year
Other major underground rail systems in world have had mobile connectivity for several years
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON:
Passengers on London’s underground railway will soon be able to make and receive calls, filling an annoying communications gap for some but depriving others of one of the last bastions of mobile phone silence.
A 4G signal will be available for the first time on the underground from next March, starting with the Jubilee line.
Connectivity will first be trialed on the eastern half of the Jubilee line with the rest of the network joining by the mid-2020s, TfL said in a statement.
The new system, which will require more than 2,000km (1200 miles) of cabling, will also host a new government network which the emergency services will use to communicate.
Other major underground rail systems in the world have had mobile connectivity for several years but London has always been difficult owing to the 150-year-old system’s narrow, winding tunnels.
London underground travellers currently have to rely on a wifi signal only available at stations.
Passengers on London’s underground railway will soon be able to make and receive calls, filling an annoying communications gap for some but depriving others of one of the last bastions of mobile phone silence.
A 4G signal will be available for the first time on the underground from next March, starting with the Jubilee line.
Connectivity will first be trialed on the eastern half of the Jubilee line with the rest of the network joining by the mid-2020s, TfL said in a statement.
The new system, which will require more than 2,000km (1200 miles) of cabling, will also host a new government network which the emergency services will use to communicate.
Other major underground rail systems in the world have had mobile connectivity for several years but London has always been difficult owing to the 150-year-old system’s narrow, winding tunnels.
London underground travellers currently have to rely on a wifi signal only available at stations.