London Underground: the plan to offer high-speed mobile coverage

• 4G and 5G-ready mobile coverage is now rolling out at additional Tube stations, including Notting Hill Gate and Queensway
• Final testing is underway at some of central London’s busiest Tube stations, including Camden Town, Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road, with mobile coverage to begin in the new year
• Tube customers will increasingly benefit from mobile coverage in stations and tunnels throughout 2023 with the whole network, as well as the Elizabeth line, fully connected by the end of 2024

A further six London Underground stations will begin offering high-speed mobile coverage to customers, as the next stage of Transport for London (TfL) and BAI Communications’ (BAI) project to bring coverage to the Tube network gathers speed.

Customers travelling between Holland Park and Queensway on the Central line, will start to see 4G and 5G-ready mobile coverage from this week, with coverage between Kentish Town and Archway on the Northern line going live in the coming week. Coverage will be in ticket halls and platforms, as well as in tunnels between those stations, allowing customers to get the latest travel information, access social media, check their emails, make calls, and stream videos while on the move underground.

All four mobile network operators – Three UK, EE, Vodafone, and Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) – are taking part in the rollout, with customers on EE and Vodafone able to access coverage from today and customers on Three UK and VMO2 gaining access in the new year.

Connecting these six stations marks the next milestone in the introduction of high-speed mobile coverage across the entire Tube network. Together with the existing 4G service on the eastern section of the Jubilee Line between Westminster and Canning Town, which was made permanent in April 2022, around ten per cent of Tube stations with platforms that are underground, and therefore usually unable to get a mobile signal, will be providing 4G and 5G-ready coverage to customers.

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. 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.

During the festive period, further testing is taking place at some of London’s busiest stations, including Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road and Camden Town, to allow mobile coverage to start at those stations in the new year. Once live, this will also help the millions of visitors who come to the West End every year to better navigate the capital, make reservations on the move and ensure they can share their experience of London with friends and family. By the end of 2024, it is expected that all Tube stations, as well as the Elizabeth line, will have 4G and 5G-ready coverage.

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