Well for once I was hoping that my smartphone would work when travelling on London’s underground in future, but apparently the word is that plans to deliver mobile phone coverage to the London underground have apparently been shelved.
According to an article over on The Register, four UK operators have been working with Chinese equipment provider Huawei to bring mobile phone coverage to the underground in time for the 2012 Olympics.
However according to the article Vodafone, O2, Three UK and Everything Everywhere have said… “We have been working closely with infrastructure partners and London Underground for some time with the hope of delivering mobile services to the London Underground and are disappointed that it will not be possible to deliver such services in time for next year’s Olympic games.”
Although it may not be the death of mobile coverage for the London underground as the operators also said… “As a group, we will continue to positively explore all other avenues available to us in order to provide a service at a later date.”
As for the reason the project has been shelved, well according to the BBC, it all comes down to cost, as apparently putting antennas throughout the underground would prove too expensive even though Huawei had agreed to donate some of the equipment.
So there you have it, for now at least the London underground will remain in the dark ages when it comes to using your mobile phone.
