Virgin Media WiFi in London goes deeper underground, 41 stations now hooked up
While it's been in the pipes for a while, and some lucky stations got an early arrival, Virgin Media has confirmed that 41 stations in total are now lapping from the bowl of sweet, sweet free WiFi. Considering that a million tweets, Facebook updates, and emails were delivered in the first week, and over 100,000 commuters have logged on in the last four, appetite for the service is high. While use is free at the moment, and TFL travel info will remain without charge, non Virgin Media customers will have to start paying up, once the Olympic Games are over. By then the full expected 120 stations should be plugged-in and switched on. For the current list of connected stations, head past the break.
Euston
Green Park
Kings Cross St Pancras
Oxford Circus
Victoria
Warren Street
Chancery Lane
Marylebone
St James's Park
Tower Hill
Barbican
Bermondsey
Borough
Hyde Park Corner
Southwark
Bayswater
Euston Square
Waterloo
Paddington on the Circle, District and Bakerloo lines.
Westminster
Covent Garden
High Street Kensington
Leicester Square
Liverpool Street
Old Street
Bethnal Green
Brixton
Canada Water
Canary Wharf
Elephant & Castle
Goodge Street
Marble Arch
Regents Park
Holborn
Stratford
West Ham
Angel
Southfields
Heathrow T1-3
North Greenwich
Mile End
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Mind the app! WiFi arrives at 40 London Underground stations
04 Jul 2012
100,000 passengers online underground in the first 4 weeks
Free travel information for all customers during the 2012 Games and after
One million Tweets, Facebook posts, emails and web pages delivered in one week
120 WiFi enabled stations by the end of the year
The new WiFi service on London's Underground is now available at more than 40 Tube stations1, and is being used by over 100,000 Tube passengers. The service, which was launched four weeks ago by Virgin Media, was used to deliver one million Tweets, Facebook posts, emails and web pages in a single week2 as, for the first time, commuters are able to take advantage of the internet while underground.
Throughout the 2012 Games and beyond passengers will be able to check TfL travel pages for live journey information as well as Time Out, Spotify and MyMovies.Net for free from Tube platforms. The service is expected to be extended to 120 stations by the end of the year.
Kevin Baughan, Director of Metro Wireless at Virgin Media, said: "Londoners and visitors are loving our new WiFi service and we're on track to connect Tube journeys right across London ahead of the Games. With millions of smartphones, gadgets and devices taken onto the Tube each day, the demand for data continues to grow and we're rolling-out a future-proofed service that makes superfast wireless connections the standard. In partnership with TfL, we've achieved a huge amount and have launched a service London can be proud of."
Gareth Powell, London Underground's Director of Strategy and Service Development, said: "WiFi at Tube stations is proving extremely popular with our customers. Millions of commuters and visitors from around the world are now able to keep up with live travel updates, news and entertainment throughout an incredible summer and beyond.
"We look forward to continuing the roll-out and connecting up to 120 London Underground stations in 2012."
The WiFi service is being delivered at no additional cost to fare or tax payers.
Virgin Media is offering free, full internet access throughout the summer. After the summer, the comprehensive WiFi portal with TfL travel information, updates and London news and entertainment will remain free for all Tube passengers. In addition Virgin Media is offering mobile operators, internet service providers and other service providers the opportunity to wholesale the service and make it freely available to their customers. Virgin Media broadband and mobile subscribers will continue to have free WiFi access and a PAYG service will ensure visitors and all Londoners can easily hop onto the internet.
To use the new free WiFi service, London Underground passengers simply need to connect to the service and register their email address. Hundreds of access points have been installed throughout the 41 stations, that are already WiFi enabled, providing passengers with great coverage from the ticket hall to the platforms. Each station is directly connected into Virgin Media's next generation fibre backhaul network which has already enabled the superfast delivery of over one million online interactions in just seven days.
