London Underground says yes to mobiles

London Underground will no longer be free of annoying ringtones and shouts of 'I'm on the train' -- mobile connectivity is coming to the Waterloo and City line.

Transport for London (TfL) announced on Thursday it has put out a tender notice for a pilot project to put mobile coverage on the Waterloo and City line between Bank and Waterloo stations, including on platforms and in the tunnels.

The experiment will start from April 2008 at the earliest and last for six months, TfL said, and will be used to assess commercial and technical aspects of introducing mobile coverage network-wide. Should it go well, connectivity is likely to be rolled out to other Tube lines.

Mobile is just the start of it. Assuming the pilot is successful, TfL will also investigate introducing DAB digital radio and Wi-Fi coverage. A spokesman for TfL told CNET.co.uk's sister site, silicon.com, the trial will be assessed on customer perception, whether the system will work in the underground environment and the commercial feasibility of the project.

It is not yet known whether mobile connectivity on the Tube will be GSM or 3G.TfL plans to have a private company or consortium install, manage and maintain the mobile system in return for a cut of revenues, and will also decide on whether 3G will be offered.

Richard Parry, London Underground strategy and service development director, said the move came in response to strong customer demand. However, according to TfL's own figures, the public is split on the issue -- with just under half of respondents in a recent survey saying they would use their mobiles on the Tube if coverage was available and 30 per cent opposed or strongly opposed to increased mobile connectivity.

When TfL originally announced its intention to put mobile coverage on the Tube, it said connectivity would only be available on the platforms, ticketing areas and concourses, and not in the tunnels themselves. The organisation said the decision to extend coverage into the tunnels was taken to prevent the network being overloaded by the huge number of travellers' mobiles connecting to it.

The original plans also said mobile connectivity could be available across the entire Tube network from 2008. TfL said it now believes network-wide coverage will not be available until mid-2009 at least.

TfL's spokesman said the delay had occurred following issues raised by initial consultation. "When we put out the first announcement in 2005, we undertook a market consultation and what came clear from that… was everyone who responded identified the issue of space and environmental constraints which needed further clarification," he said. The consultation then led to a feasibility study which delayed plans for any rollout.