mobileu.co.uk

Underground internet deal just 'weeks away'

A deal between the UK’s four major mobile phone networks to bring mobile and Wi-Fi coverage to the London Underground is just weeks away, according to industry sources.

The £150 million deal to install the technology on the Tube has received the endorsement of the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, and is reportedly ready to be signed off within the next two weeks.

A source close to the deal – who spoke on condition of anonymity – said, "We are very close to signing a deal to put mobile on the underground. The Mayor of London is keen for it [the network] to happen before the Olympics."

A six-month trial is already underway for commuters using Charring Cross Underground station, which is being run by BT.

The necessity of mobile coverage on the Tube has been questioned for as long as it has been proposed, with many deeming it an unnecessary spending of resources. Last month, however, Boris Johnson, invited proposals from telecommunications firms to install coverage on a stretch of the Jubilee Line in time for the Olympics in 2012.

Last year, TfL scrapped a six-month trial that would have seen mobile signals available on the Waterloo & City line due to high costs.