Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone join London Underground’s mobile network
Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone are the latest UK network operators set to join the London Underground’s 4G and 5G mobile-ready network.
The new service will provide fast mobile services to commuters on the metro system in the capital when it launches before the end of the year.
Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone will join EE and Three in providing connectivity for the service, which BAI Communications are building.
The global comms infrastructure provider wants to supercharge the entire London Underground with a full 4G service by 2024 after it was recently awarded a 20-year deal by Transport for London (TfL) to deliver this connectivity.
BAI has already conducted a successful test in a small section on the Jubilee Line and plans to bring coverage to five more stations in 2022.
This will allow commuters to use mobile services at Camden Town, Tottenham Court Road, Euston, Oxford Circus and Bank.
The development promises to better equip the 150-year-old metro system for the digital age while improving connectivity for the millions of people who use it every day.
Vodafone UK CEO Ahmed Essam said: “The UK needs world-class digital infrastructure and bringing 4G and 5G to the London Underground is a big part of that.”
Virgin Media O2 CEO Lutz Schüler expressed similar sentiments while highlighting the company’s extensive infrastructure work in the capital.
Schüler said that the “hundreds of millions of pounds” already invested by Virgin Media O2 has “accelerated London’s transformation”.
The new Underground service, which will also feature a new Emergency Services Network (ESN), will continue that transformation.