Mobile Coverage on Tube Coming to Shepherd's Bush and White City
High speed internet to be available to passengers next spring
Mobile signals will be available for commuters. Picture: TfL
September 11, 2023
Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that passengers using the Central Line at two local stations will be able to get high-speed mobile coverage from Spring next year..
Even when in tunnels at Shepherd’s Bush and White City, it will be possible to get 4G and 5G signals similar to coverage which is already available between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road.
All four mobile network operators - Three UK, EE, Vodafone, and Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) - are taking part in the rollout, which has already delivered 4G on sections of the Jubilee and Northern. By the end of the year, 33 stations with platforms that are underground, and therefore usually unable to get a mobile signal, as well as connecting tunnels, will have mobile coverage, increasing to more than 40 stations by the first half of 2024.
The introduction of 4G and 5G mobile coverage across the Tube network is being delivered by Boldyn Networks.
It will also host the new Emergency Services Network (ESN), which when fully operational, will give first responders immediate access to life-saving data, images and information in live situations and emergencies on the frontline.
The rollout to Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road follows Camden Town and Mornington Crescent stations getting high-speed mobile coverage last month. Customers using the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line at Euston station will also get 4G and 5G coverage in the coming weeks.
The Mayor also confirmed that the first stations on the Elizabeth line to benefit from high-speed mobile coverage will be Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon and Liverpool Street. These stations will be live by the end of the year, with all stations and tunnelled sections getting 4G coverage by the end of Spring 2024.
TfL expects a significant proportion of the entire Tube network (around 80 per cent of stations across the network) and the Elizabeth line, to have mobile coverage by the end of 2024.
Sadiq Khan said, “I am delighted to see the promise I made of delivering 4G and 5G across the London Underground continuing to progress, with West End hubs Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road joining an ever-growing network of line and stations with full connectivity. This means Londoners and visitors can now access the latest travel information or social media, check their emails, make calls, and stream videos whilst on the move underground. Growing numbers of underground Tube stations now have 4G and 5G services, with many more to come as we continue to build a better London for everyone."
Boldyn Networks, was awarded a 20-year concession by TfL in June 2021 to deliver high speed, 5G-ready mobile connectivity across the entire London Underground network. Formerly BAI Communications, it is installing a backbone of connectivity across the capital.
Around 500 people are working overnight across the Tube network to install mobile equipment, with all works needed to be tidied away before the network opens for customers every morning. Once fully delivered, more than 2,000 kilometres of cabling as well as thousands of radios are expected to be installed within tunnels and stations, all of which will be fitted outside of operational hours.
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