Tube signal scheme scrapped for the Olympics

There's a joke about signal failure in here somewhere
There's a joke about signal failure in here somewhere

Plans to install mobile networks on London's underground rail network in time for the Olympics have been scrapped, according the UK's mobile operators.

Reports from the City are suggesting that the huge scale of getting the project up and running in time simply won't be feasible, and the networks have confirmed to TechRadar that this won't be the case.

The four UK mobile phone networks (Everything Everywhere, O2, 3 and Vodafone) released the following joint statement:

"We have been working closely with infrastructure partners and London Underground for some time with the hope of delivering mobile services to the London Underground and are disappointed that it will not be possible to deliver such services in time for next year's Olympic games."

Exploring other avenues

"As a group, we will continue to positively explore all other avenues available to us in order to provide a service at a later date."

According to CityAM, Huawei (which was planning to give £50m to the project and offer cheaper equipment) as well as the networks have lost millions of pounds spent on researching the possibility of getting mobile signal installed on the Tube.

However, there is a chance the scheme could be resurrected after the Olympics, with the separate plans to install Wi-Fi in stations around the capital unaffected also.

Gareth Beavis
Formerly Global Editor in Chief

Gareth has been part of the consumer technology world in a career spanning three decades. He started life as a staff writer on the fledgling TechRadar, and has grown with the site (primarily as phones, tablets and wearables editor) until becoming Global Editor in Chief in 2018. Gareth has written over 4,000 articles for TechRadar, has contributed expert insight to a number of other publications, chaired panels on zeitgeist technologies, presented at the Gadget Show Live as well as representing the brand on TV and radio for multiple channels including Sky, BBC, ITV and Al-Jazeera. Passionate about fitness, he can bore anyone rigid about stress management, sleep tracking, heart rate variance as well as bemoaning something about the latest iPhone, Galaxy or OLED TV.