BT to trial Wi-Fi on Tube platforms

BT Openzone and London Underground are to trial Wi-Fi in a Tube station, in a six-month trial beginning on 1 November.

The trial will take place in the ticket hall area and Northern and Bakerloo line platforms at Charing Cross station. Openzone users including some BT Broadband, O2, Tesco Mobile, Vodafone and Orange customers will be able to access the service for free.

"Around 68,000 passenger journeys are made a day at Charing Cross Tube station," London Underground strategy and commercial director Richard Parry said in a statement. "We hope that our customers will find it useful to have access to the internet while they are using the Tube station during this six-month trial.

"Live service updates will allow passengers to check the status of the Tube and other transport services while they are on the move at the station."

According to the statement, BT is funding the trial. Transport for London is also looking into extending mobile coverage onto the Tube, in a deployment that would likely use the same 'leaky feeder' technology that was used to communicate with the trapped Chilean miners earlier this year.