Mobile connectivity is being rolled out across the London Underground and Elizabeth Line – at no cost to London’s taxpayers. PHILIP SHERRATT explains how it is being delivered
Like it or not, mobile devices play an increasingly significant role in many of our lives. Providing good mobile connectivity is therefore a prevalent ambition, and this extends to the stations and tunnels of the London Underground, where a rollout of 4G and 5G is now taking place.
In June 2021 TfL awarded a 20-year concession to Boldyn Networks (formerly BAI Communications) to provide high-speed mobile coverage on the tube network, fulfilling a pledge in Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s manifesto. This followed a pilot installation for 4G coverage by TfL between Canning Town and Westminster on the Jubilee Line extension in 2020.
‘We went out to find a partner to fund the installation’ explains Matt Griffin, TfL’s Head of Commercial Telecoms. ‘We did the Jubilee Line pilot to de-risk this, to make sure the technology could be installed and would work.’ In April 2022 Boldyn Networks purchased the equipment on the Jubilee Line extension, meaning it is now a permanent fixture.
The arrangement is that Boldyn funds the installation of the…
