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Half of Brits don’t want Wi-Fi on the Tube

by Sarah Griffiths on 29 March 2011, 14:45

Tags: General Business

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Going underground

Half of Brits don't want Wi-Fi access on the Tube, according to a new poll.

London Underground (LU) is pressing ahead with its plans to roll out a Wi-Fi network across 120 Tube stations in the face of terrorism worries and now it seems partly against public opinion as well.

LU has invited firms to tender for a network-wide contract after a trial at Charring Cross, which could see Wi-Fi available for travellers in time for the Olympics.

While some commuters have been busy making use of a BT Openzone service at Charing Cross Station since November last year, it appears that most people are not in favour of rolling out Wi-Fi across the Tube network.

According to The Metro, a poll of 950 Londoners by myvouchercodes.co.uk found that 55 percent of respondents were against Wi-Fi being made available on the Underground.

Apparently, of those people not in favour of the Wi-Fi roll out, almost half said it was because of privacy fears in case other passengers were looking at their passwords.

Crime was reportedly another big concern for polled Londoners with almost a third worried that Wi-Fi will encourage theft of smartphones and computers that would be on show as users browsed the web.

Finally, the poll reportedly revealed that 14 percent of respondents reckoned the introduction of Wi-Fi on the Tube would lead to a more stressful commute, while 7 percent thought more people working on laptops in carriages will make busy carriages even more cramped.

Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, told the newspaper: "It's quite surprising to see the number of people who are against the introduction of Wi-Fi on the Underground. I would've thought, particularly with the advances in the world of technology, that people would be happy to see the availability of the internet on the tube; making internet access more readily available in all aspects of everyday life."



HEXUS Forums :: 32 Comments

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The reasons for not having wifi just borders on the stupidity!
Indeed, those reasons are quite potty.
Carl Sagan
We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces
thats probably becuase over half of “Brits” don't use the tube… funny thing is there are more places in the UK than London, I know it sounds mad but its true!
Jay
thats probably becuase over half of “Brits” don't use the tube… funny thing is there are more places in the UK than London, I know it sounds mad but its true!


Haha yea and given that there are more places in the UK than London and there is already 3G and wifi places outside the underground, apply those reasons would mean the underground is the safest place with the lowest theft/crime rates compared to the outside world?! haha
So its like the Britain is living in London judging by the title?

If you don't leave in London what's the point of asking a sheep farmer from oooop north what he thinks about Wi-Fi on London Tube?