TfL To Trial Wi-Fi On The Tube

By · October 29, 2010 at 9:30 am · 20 Comments · Latest News · Report an error ·

2810_wifi.jpg
Photo / Pit Van Meeffe

TfL today announced a wi-fi trial at Charing Cross station from November 1st. The service will cover the ticket hall, Bakerloo and Northern line platforms (though not the trains themselves).

The service will use TfL’s existing wireless network for staff, but will be operated by BT Openzone: according to their website, charges start from £5.99 for 90 minutes access, which is an awful long time to spend at Charing Cross (though perhaps not uncommon, given the Tube problems of recent weeks). Users will, however, be able to access TfL service updates for free.

Should it prove popular, wi-fi will doubtless be rolled out further, and alongside the probability of mobile phone coverage underground, the days of the Tube being a haven from the tyranny of your inbox and voicemail are slowly drawing to an end.

If you don’t fancy forking out for your wi-fi coverage, our ever-popular map of free wireless spots in London is now available as an iPhone app.

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  • RachelH

    BT Openzone? That’s a shame – if the service is anything like that in the main station, you’ll be able to connect briefly but get no actual data to come through. At least, that’s been my experience.

    • DeanN

      Yeah. their service at times can be patchy. However, I’ve used BT Openzone in Starbucks before (it’s free for O2 iphone users) and never had a problem.

      • Dave

        BT Openzone is also *supposedly* free for Orange iPhone users. Unfortunately, there is no empirical evidence that any Orange iPhone user has ever got it to work…

        • http://undefined Lewis

          It’s allegedly available for Vodafone users too.

          But good luck getting it connected – it just confuses the phone into thinking there’s a wi-fi service, so it tries to connect when 3G would be much better…

          • M@

            In three years of iPhone ownership (O2) I too have never once successfully logged on to a BT Openzone wifi point. I just ignore the option now, assuming it’s a myth.

          • http://undefined DeanN

            Definitely works in Starbucks, as per my earlier comment, and I’ve also got it to work in the Square Mile (the corner of Bishopsgate and London Wall, to be precise). But nowhere else.

          • http://twitter.com/ianvisits IanVisits

            I used to use Starbucks as my “office” and the service was fine in most branches I used. I did sign in with a Starbucks card though, just in case there is any prioritisation going on.

  • zefrog

    While I am all for wifi, I think they should draw the line at mobile network. I wouldn’t want people starting to shout inanities on their phone on top of the exisiting noise from the tubes themselves.

    • http://undefined DeanN

      If there’s a wi-fi network, won’t people just use Skype or Google Voice or Facetime (or equivalent) anyway?

  • http://undefined SM

    Doomed to fail. A project about five years too late. Are they oblivious to the inevitable domination of the smart phone and dongle? And you’d have to be either desperate or daft to pay £5.99 when you’re probably 30 mins away from leaving the station and can access the internet via your phone.

    PS – that’s one hell of a mis-leading headline. How about TfL To Trial Wi-Fi in Tube station

    • Dave

      I’m not so sure. In London especially, mobile data networks have really struggled to keep up with demand. Both O2 and Orange have had significant documented problems with 3G capacity in London over the last couple of years, and as smartphones and other mobile devices get more advanced, the demand for bandwidth is only increasing. Right now, wifi is still by far the preferable option for mobile internet access, and there’s no sign of 3G (or its successors) catching up any time soon.

    • http://undefined DeanN

      If the experience of Orange users on that company’s 3G service is anything to go by, there could be some keen adopters of a reliable underground wifi service (though probably not at six quid a pop, mind).

      • http://undefined SM

        Maybe guys. Although I can’t see the TfL target audience (who by their nature are mobile) wanting to sit down in a busy often dirty train station with a lack of seats for a considerable length of time to access the internet.

        It just seems to be a desperate ploy to plug the funding gap rather than a well thought out idea. I hear the next idea is to sell seat reservations on the tube…

        • http://undefined Lewis

          There are days I’d happily pay for the first class carriage…

  • http://undefined djhworld

    It would be better if they put repeaters inside the tunnels so you can get it on the train.

    How long do people really spend inside a tube station anyway (other than during delays or strikes or whatever). I think most people are on the move more than waiting at a platform for enough time to crack out a phone or a laptop

  • http://undefined jogreen68

    Paying £5.99 for the privilege of intermittent connection all for the benefit of just about being able to download an email from your boss, who has quite kindly dumped a whole host of tasks on you which he suggests should have been completed yesterday.

    Thanks TFL!

    • http://undefined DeanN

      You might also wish to read our test of the service. It definitely isn’t intermittent in the station, and it’s free if you have wi-fi minutes included in your smartphone contract (which includes iPhone on O2, Orange, and Vodafone).

      • http://undefined jogreen68

        Thanks Dean, I take it back!

        I might even give it a bash myself next time I am at Charing Cross.

  • Canisxxxlupus

    I HATE Bt Openzone and BT Fon. You never seem to manage to connect properly and they always override the nearest free hotspot that actually works. Even at home it stops me logging in to my router after I’ve tried to disable it and reset the preferences. Or don’t you hate it when you’re playing a game or typing something on your phone or browsing a website with another connection when suddenly you get a ‘WELCOME TO BT!’ page pop up. And on some windows, there aren’t navigation buttons, like a welcome page or login screen, particularly in a game or something where you can’t refresh- so when BT’s one comes up, you are literally stuck on that page unless you shut everything down and start it up again. I am sick of trying to use my maps app or looking up train times/tube information on the bus with that godforsaken BT hounding me… And you want me to PAY to use your service on the tube, after you hijacked my home route and reduced my connection speed? WTF?

  • Geofftech

    and here it is, in action … http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYiS_5ezztU

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