Virgin Media O2 has become the last of the UK’s four main mobile phone companies to offer its customers access to the expanding network of super-fast 4G connectivity on the Tube.
4G services are being installed across the London Underground for Transport for London by BAI Communications. Last December, EE and Vodafone customers were the first to benefit, followed by Three earlier this year.
On Friday Virgin said its Virgin Mobile and O2 customers would also be able to connect to 4G, which allows users to stream live TV and films, make calls and send emails and text messages while Underground.
However the 4G network is only currently available on the Central Line between Queensway and Holland Park, and on the Northern Line between Kentish Town and Archway.
More stations are being added in a rolling programme that will cover all below-ground Tube stations and the Elizabeth line by the end of next year.
Continuous 4G can be accessed in station ticket halls, platforms, on Tube trains and in the tunnels between stations.
Passengers at Notting Hill, Archway and Tufnell Park stations can also access “very high speed” 5G.
4G is already available on the eastern section of the Jubilee line between Westminster and Canning Town stations, where it was first trialled in 2020.
Gareth Turpin, chief commercial officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “This is set to revolutionise commuting in the capital, and in the weeks and months ahead we’ll be rolling out ultrafast mobile services at more Tube stations, in tunnels and on platforms to bring high-speed connectivity to our customers as they travel on the Underground.”
Theo Blackwell, Mayor Sadiq Khan’s chief digital officer, said: “It’s great to see 5G mobile connectivity now available at a number of Tube stations, proving that the state-of-the-art technology being installed across the network is already future-proofed and adaptable for the next generation of mobile signal.”
