As any Londoner will surely tell you, the London Underground is a labyrinth of fluctuating connectivity. However, for a section of the Jubilee line between Canning Town and Westminster underground stations, the coming year could see this frustration become a thing of the past.
O2 has signed a deal with Transport for London (TfL) allowing the delivery of their 4G network to a section of the Jubilee line that includes North Greenwich, the main transport hub for The O2 Arena. This is the first time this section of the underground system has received this level of mobile network, providing connectivity relief for 5 million commuters that use the system every day.
Increasing the level of connectivity across this section will involve the installation of 2,000 km of cables, with consumers expected to start seeing the benefits of the pilot programme by March next year.
This announcement comes not long after O2 were named ‘Supplier of the Year’ at the recent TfL Supplier Awards, further demonstrating the strength of partnership between the two organisations.
“It’s great that O2 have signed up to bring their 4G network to Jubilee line customers,” said Shashi Verma, TfL’s chief technology officer. “The London Underground network is an incredibly challenging environment in which to deliver technological improvements, but we remain on course for customers to start benefiting from our pilot from March 2020.”
The results of this pilot programme will dictate many facets of a proposed wider network rollout across the rest of the Underground system by the nation’s four mobile network providers. TfL is currently planning to award this historic contract in summer 2020.
“This is a fantastic project for O2 to be a part of and shows our relentless commitment to providing our network to our customers, wherever they are. The pilot will allow us to continue working hand in hand with TfL, and other network operators, to bring connectivity to commuters across London,” said Derek McManus, COO of O2.
Source: https://www.totaltele.com/504512/O2-to-pilot-4G-on-London-Underground-section