Queensway, Notting Hill and Holland Park stations get 4G coverage
Commuters travelling between Queensway and Holland Park will no longer have to worry about pausing their favourite Netflix show as the three Central line stations have begun supporting 4G and 5G coverage.
Transport for London (TfL) has announced that three additional stations – Kentish Town, Tufnell Park and Archway on the Northern line – will start offering the service from next week.
4G and 5G will be available at platform tickets as well as in tunnels between stations, providing coverage to customers using one of the four major network operators – Three, EE, Virgin Media and Vodafone.
EE and Vodafone customers will be able to make the most of the service from today whilst Three and Virgin Media users will get access from early next year.
“Today marks a great step forward in the delivery of mobile connectivity on the Tube, as Londoners will now have increased access to high-speed mobile coverage when travelling through more Tube stations,” commented Seb Dance, deputy mayor for transport.
Connecting those six stations is part of a long-standing project between TfL and infrastructure provider BAI to bring internet to the Tube network.
Launched in June last year, the project aims to bring 4G and 5G coverage to the wider tube network by 2024.
TfL has explained that 50 per cent of all its tube stations – 130 – are currently underground and don’t get access to the internet.
Together with the existing service on the Jubilee line’s eastern leg between Westminster and Canning Town, coverage on the six stations will amount to 10 per cent of all underground stations.
“Progress on delivery is accelerating and together with BAI Communications and the mobile network operators we will connect many of London’s busiest stations during 2023,” added TfL’s chief technology officer Shashi Varma.
To increase the uptake’s pace, testing will take place at some of London’s busiest stations – including Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Camden Town.