Though we may not like to admit it, most of us have found ourselves twiddling out thumbs when the signal cuts off on the London Underground; especially when also book-less and headphone-less. And no, that way of connecting to the wi-fi that no one really understands doesn’t quash the issue.
But rejoice! This won’t happen everywhere you go on the Tube, with the number of areas offering 4G signal rapidly increasing. We’ve been banging on about the prospect of 4G coming to the Underground for a good while now, with the whole service due to be connected by 2024—and the next stage is here!
We’ve already witnessed it in action on the Jubilee line between Westminster and Canning Town, and now it’s the Central and Northern line’s turn to boast a connection.
Between Holland Park and Queensway on the Central line, passengers will be able to load up whatever music, movie or shouting-in-social-media-comments-section based activity they wish for, if only for a sweet few stops. TfL also expanded this perk to passengers travelling between Archway and Kentish Town on the Northern line just before the end of 2022 (December 22).
As it stands, this only applies to those on Vodafone in EE, though it is expected to stretch to Three UK and VM/O2 customers in the early stages of 2023. Final testing is also underway at Camden Town, Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road stations to hook them up to the network early this year.
Deputy Mayor Seb Dance said: “[This] 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.
“The mayor pledged to Londoners that he would deliver 4G throughout the Tube network as part of his commitment to building a better London for everyone – and I have no doubt that this expansion of coverage will help transform journeys for millions of passengers.”
Roll on 2024!