O2 UK Joins 4G Mobile Pilot on the London Underground Network

Mobile operator O2 UK has today confirmed that they will work with Transport for London (TfL) to pilot a new 4G (mobile broadband and voice) network through tunnels and at station platforms on the London Underground (tube trains). The operator will join Vodafone, which reached a similar agreement with TfL a couple of months ago.

The TfL project was first unveiled in July 2019 (here) and aims to make 4G services available across the whole of their London Underground (tube trains) network by the “mid-2020s“; we assume that means completion somewhere around 2024-2026.

The bad news is that this pilot will initially only take place on the Jubilee Line between Canning Town and Westminster stations, with the service expected to go live from March 2020. As usual the idea of such a limited initial deployment is to iron out any bugs, before extending it across the network.

Hundreds of miles of fibre optic cabling will also be installed as part of the rollout, which is part of a range of measures from Mayor Sadiq Khan to boost digital connectivity across the capital (here). Procurement for a concessionaire to facilitate 4G connectivity across the whole Underground network is said to be “well underway“, with a look to award the contract by Summer 2020.

Derek McManus, COO at O2, said:

“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.

This unique collaboration builds on the recent announcement of the Shared Rural Network, showing how the telecommunications industry is spearheading a more connected, mobile Britain.”

We’d be very surprised if Three UK and EE (BT) didn’t join the scheme at some point next year.