London’s Tube, the world’s oldest subway system, is officially entering the 21st century: It's getting an underground 4G network that will co

The London Tube’s 4G makeover sets stage for smart city projects to come

submited by

Style Pass

2021-06-25 16:00:09

London’s Tube, the world’s oldest subway system, is officially entering the 21st century: It's getting an underground 4G network that will cover its platforms, stations, and tunnels.

The coverage will roll out at London’s busiest stations in 2022, with full coverage available by the end of 2024. London is one of the last major cities without this kind of connectivity.

“We get an extra G every 7 years in the industry, so we may be at 7G by the time we finish the concession,” Paul Osborne, chief commercial officer for UK & Europe at BAI Communications told Emerging Tech Brew. “We are building it with scalability in mind to be able to make those changes.”

The BAI contract also allocated resources to IoT and smart city development, including the installation of 124 miles of core fiber that will eventually connect street lights, bus stops, and traffic signals.

Big picture: As the city and private providers build this network, Roslyn Layton, senior vice president at Strand Consult, told us the work doesn’t end in building the foundation of a smart city network.