Boris Johnson is planning to roll out wi-fi across London, including the underground, meaning that those with hectic email accounts will no longer be able to escape from the deluge, even on the tube.
Wi-fi hotspots and phone base stations will be installed on underground stations, and in streetlights and bus stops. But for lots of people working in the capital, including myself, the tube offers a welcome respite from the non-stop tirade of emails lots of us receive, from office workers to city boys. But is Boris has his way, we’ll all be emailing on the underground as well.
In typically flippant style, Boris also managed to reduce the capital’s commuters into a city of Blackberry users, and said: “The truth is that I’m on the side of progress if we possibly can do it. We could do it because I do think people want the facility of looking at their Blackberries.”
Bafflingly, London-wide wi-fi hotspots would also be very expensive to roll out, which raises some questions about how and with what cash such a big project could be implemented, given the harsh budget released earlier in the week.
The aim is to have blanket coverage across the capital by the time of the 2012 Olympics, which now potentially includes the underground. Rolling out coverage on the tube sounds a bit speculative at the moment, and I’m unsure whether I’ll appreciate being able to drop the dodgy dongle I use if it comes hand in hand with the fact that now, I have no escape.
Do you commute in London? Do you welcome coverage, or should the tube stay a sacred signal blackspot? Tell us in the comments!
