Up to 120 London Underground stations may have wi-fi access by 2012

Telecom companies invited to tender for wi-fi provision following successful trial at Charing Cross Tube station

Telecom companies are being invited to tender for wi-fi provision at up to 120 stations across the London Underground (LU) network by June 2012, with a contract to be awarded to the chosen bidder by the end of 2011.

This follows a successful trial at Charing Cross Tube station, which began in November 2010 and will continue to allow customers to access wi-fi at the station until later this year.

It tested how the wi-fi service worked and also looked at passenger reactions over several months.

Research from Charing Cross Tube station found that over half of LU passengers surveyed felt that access to wi-fi would make their experience of using the Tube better.

Many have said they would like to see this service rolled out to more stations on the Underground and that connecting to a wireless broadband hotspot with a wi-fi enabled device at a Tube station is very useful.

The first phase of wider wi-fi provision on the Tube would be to make available the service currently used by LU staff at 16 stations for passenger use, and then to work to expand this service to other Underground stations.

The tender is for the provision of wi-fi services at stations and will allow passengers to access their emails anywhere in the station, but does not extend to trains.

This invitation to tender will also allow prospective partners to supply details of how they would create a wi-fi network at street level at places such as bus shelters.

Transport for London and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson are currently in discussion with mobile phone operators and other suppliers about the potential provision of mobile phone services on the network.

Johnson said: "The roll out of wi-fi technology across the platforms and public areas of our Tube stations will finally allow Londoners to use mobile devices to pick up their emails, access social media sites and stay in touch with the world above."

Further information:
Transport for London