Funding issues stall plans
TfL and mobile operators have now agreed to abandon the planned roll-out of a mobile phone network in the London Underground due to funding issues, according to Guardian. It was hoped it would be up and running in time for the Olympics next year.
The report noted that mayor and TfL made it clear that, given the financial pressures on TfL's budgets, any solution would have to have been funded through mobile operators with no cost to fare or taxpayers.
Among the companies involved in the project was Chinese telco giant Huawei, which announced its involvement back in February.
Huawei was going to donate £50m of equipment to wire up the network, as it gives the company "commercial foot in the door in Western markets from which it should be able to secure further contracts," according to V3.
V3 earlier quoted Ovum analyst Richard Thurston is doubtful that it will be completed. It quoted him as saying "The project has been delayed for years because of revenue sharing, infrastructure sharing and installation challenges. Most of those challenges remain, and we expect this project will continue to prove troublesome."
Though plans for a mobile coverage in tubes are not likely to be fruitful, Wi-Fi service plan is still on. However, we earlier reported that half of Brits don't want a Wi-Fi network in the tubes. City hall insisted that it will remain a "long-term goal."
A spokesman for the London Mayor said: "Our efforts meanwhile will be focussed on guaranteeing a major expansion of Wi-Fi coverage in tube stations in time for the Olympics. We are proceeding with great energy and haste to deliver that improvement, which will mean Londoners can then use their mobile devices to pick up their emails or access the internet while passing through our stations."
