The Traveller's Magazine
Jubilee Fever has officially passed as the UK heads back to work today after a blissful four-day weekend. Now, all eyes are on the upcoming Summer Olympic Games. To get ready, London has unveiled that 80 Tube stations will provide free internet access by the end of July.
We say free, because it won’t be free forever. Transport for London (TfL) has announced which Tube stations will be equipped with Wi-Fi access first. You can expect to find a Wi-Fi signal in stations like Oxford Circus, Liverpool Street, London Bridge and King’s Cross St. Pancras over the next couple of weeks but by the end of 2012, TfL hopes to have at least 120 stations connected to the World Wide Web.
Virgin Media won the bid for the service and as soon as its launched, TfL is confident things will be running smoothly after promising tests of hundreds of devices connecting at one station at time. Commuters will be able to connect and use the service for free during the Olympic Games but after the games close, a charge will be incurred for using the service. If you already have a Virgin Media account, you’ll have the option of adding the service to your contract.
Who is going to pay for it?
Tube fares are one of the top complaints among Londoners so when we catch wind of a snazzy new service, we’re all concerned it’ll mean yet another hike in fare prices. Fortunately for fare and tax payers the Underground Wi-Fi project is self-funded, meaning no ups in prices for riding the Tube, for now.
London isn’t the only city getting outfitted with Wi-Fi, here’s how to find free Wi-Fi in Europe.
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