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Three customers will soon get free WiFi on the Tube
After installing WiFi throughout the London underground and allowing free access during the 2012 Olympics and well beyond, Virgin Media eventually began charging for the service to recoup some of the investment. EE and Vodafone struck a deal to keep it free for their mobile customers before that solemn day even arrived, and O2 followed suit before too long. Apparently, Three didn't fancy jumping on the bandwagon then, but has just announced its patrons will be able to enjoy the same level of complementary connectivity by the end of the July. In early August, Three also plans to launch a new app called InTouch that'll allow you to call and text over WiFi (O2's Tu Go app lets you do the same), making even Tube platforms a stage for your loud and witty banter.
O2 customers get free pass on Virgin Media's tube WiFi, last 12 stations go online this week
Unless you're a Virgin Media, EE or Vodafone customer, you've either been shelling out for subterranean internet, or bid the London Underground's WiFi network a solemn farewell when free access ended in January. If you're with O2, however, your free pass has now been reinstated, as the bubble-loving carrier has become the latest passenger riding on Virgin Media's tube hotspots -- O2 WiFi users will even find themselves automatically registered. Also, the underground network will shortly be meeting its 120-station target, as Virgin will be flipping switches at the final 12 locations throughout this week (the station list is available at the source link). So, should you start seeing more people in more places frantically hammering their smartphones during those 30-second pauses on the platform, you'll know why.
PSA: Virgin Media begins charging for tube WiFi today
Today's the day that your cost-free tweeting about red signals comes to end, as Virgin Media begins charging for its WiFi service on the London Underground. If you're a Virgin, Vodafone or EE customer, then you just need to sign up to continue getting access as part of your mobile plan. For everyone else, avoiding getting your fingers sticky on that day's issue of Metro will cost you £2 a day, £5 per seven-day week or £15 a month. If you take up the latter option at any point in February, you'll be given an additional sweetener: three months for the price of one. The company has also announced that Hampstead, Tooting Broadway and Great Portland Street are among 11 more stations that are due to come online this week.
EE strikes deal with Virgin Media to give its customers free tube WiFi in 2013 (update: Vodafone, too)
Londoners enjoyed not only "the greatest show on earth" this summer, but also free tube WiFi courtesy of Virgin Media. It's due to remain complimentary for what's left of the year, but if you're with EE, you'll be able to continue updating your status from subterranean platforms in 2013. The UK's first 4G provider has struck a deal to hook its customers up to Virgin's underground WiFi infrastructure, although the announcement seems to have gone out a little earlier than planned. EE tweeted the news then swiftly retracted it, but has since replied to Mr. Miles at Pocket-lint confirming the partnership, at least for however long that message stays... yep, it's gone. If you're not on EE, don't get your sad face on just yet, as there are rumors circulating that other carriers will be piggybacking on Virgin's hotspots, too -- they just haven't accidentally announced it yet. Update: It's now officially official, and Vodafone's on board as well. Next year, tube WiFi will stay free for those signed with either EE or Voda, and Virgin will be offering pay-as-you-go options for those that aren't: daily, weekly or monthly access from £2 per day (roughly $3.20). Virgin is also hooking up another 48 stations, with 20 due to be switched on this December and 28 in early 2013. If you're wondering whether your local station is one of the score being hooked up this month, they're all listed in the PR below.
Virgin Media extends free tube WiFi for all until 2013
Tweeting about the obnoxious individuals you share a tube platform with was expected to be a one-time thing if you weren't a Virgin Media customer. The Branson-backed provider had said that, once the summer games had finished, it would make the service exclusive to its own broadband subscribers. Now, however, the company has reversed that decision, extending the free period through until the end of the year. The Telegraph is reporting that the turnaround is in part thanks to wholesale talks with other ISPs, who are keen to offer the service as part of their own packages. Given that we're unlikely to make it into the stratosphere or the bottom of the ocean any time soon, we'll settle for pretending we're a daring explorer of the Piccadilly line.
Virgin Media activates more tube WiFi hotspots, minds the gaps in its coverage
Virgin Media has flicked the switch and coated Kings Cross and Warren Street tube stations in gloriously free WiFi. The pair will be joined tomorrow by Oxford Circus and Green Park, while Victoria and Euston will do the same on the 9th. In order to use the service, which is free during the Olympics, users need to hop onto the network and register their email address. Once the summer is over, Virgin Media customers will get preferential treatment on the network, with everyone else buying pay-as-you-go minutes so they can tweet about how long we're stuck at Edgware Road... again.
