Mind the gap(ing mouth): London's Underground to get ubiquitous mobile phone coverage
- Reference: 1624373054
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/22/londons_underground_mobile_coverage/
- Source link:
It means hard-pressed commuters – who are slowly returning to the soul-sapping slog of travelling to work each day - are to lose one of the few places they can go without being bothered by pesky phone calls: be it their own or someone else’s.
The announcement comes as Transport for London (TfL) confirmed it has awarded a 20-year concession for 4G and 5G infrastructure to BAI Communications (BAI), which operates similar networks for subways in Toronto and New York as well as a public transport system in Hong Kong.
[1]EE and Three mobe mast surveyors might 'upload some virus' to London Tube control centre, TfL told judge
[2]Transport for London asks Capita to fling Congestion Charge system into the cloud
[3]Now that's a train delay Upminster with which London travellers shall not put
[4]Yes, TfL asked people to write down their Oyster passwords – but don't worry, they didn't inhale
BAI said it expects to invest more than £1bn across the Connected London programme, including using the tunnel network of the Tube to pipe fibre to other parts of the capital.
According to today’s announcement, this will help to “further increase mobile coverage through small mobile transmitters, as well as leveraging the power of 5G to deliver city-wide improvements and future growth.”
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Asked to explain the business model underpinning the deal, a spokesperson for BAI said: “On an operational level, BAI offers a neutral host solution with one network that all mobile operators can share. The neutral host makes a return from operating and maintaining the network on the operators’ behalf. The good news is that BAI builds one network that all operators get to use at a fraction of the cost that it would ordinarily cost them to build themselves.”
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One of those likely to have a significant role in the project is BAI UK Chief Operating Officer Ken Ranger, who moved from Toronto to London a couple of years ago. While he was there, he took the lead in the rollout of the comms network across the Toronto subway.
And the similarities with today’s announcement are easy to spot.
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A [9]company blog in 2019 about Ranger’s appointment – and what he brings to the UK – explains how the Toronto deal in 2012 was also a 20-year licence agreement.
“The service is made possible by the independent communications infrastructure BAI invests in, owns and operates. This, in turn, generates revenue for the TTC, Toronto’s transport network operator,” it said.
Work has already begun on London's comms network with cabling already installed on the Jubilee and Victoria lines, as well as within the Northern Line Extension. It is now expected to begin at some of London's busiest stations including Oxford Circus, Tottenham Court Road, Bank, Euston, and Camden Town with the first due to flicker into life late next year.
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TfL has been running a trial of the technology covering the eastern half of the Jubilee line including Westminster and Canning Town since March 2020. ®
Get our [11]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/09/mobile_mast_surveyors_virus_upload_silliness/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/10/transport_for_london_capita_contract/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/06/29/bork/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/27/tfl_oyster_cards_plain_text_password_form/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YNIJHyLOwrA8zyTFfa6NrQAAANU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
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[9] https://www.baicommunications.com/blog/bai-communications-uk-appoints-chief-operating-officer/?country=United+Kingdom
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/networks&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YNIJHyLOwrA8zyTFfa6NrQAAANU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Thanks I hate it
Don't worry - getting any sort of radio to work in those tunnels is an engineering nightmare. There's a reason the current WiFi service is only at the stations.
Re: Thanks I hate it
...getting any sort of radio to work in those tunnels is an engineering nightmare.
IMO that is an overstatement; leaky feeders have been used to provide underground / tunnel radio communications for years; the engineering isn't really a nightmare, but the associated costs most assuredly are, not least because the area (volume?) that an individual cell can cover is quite modest in comparison with that covered by a cell with a tower - mounted aerial.
Re: Thanks I hate it
If it's actually on a train then you may be spared the sort of person who holds the phone horizontally with the speaker on like some vapid Apprentice wannabe.
Can't say I'm looking forward to any of this development. There's a reason I've usually got some earphones on when travelling by public transport.
Re: Thanks I hate it
First of all, people barely make voice calls anymore. It's almost all text based nowadays, whether it's WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Matrix, Twitter, Mastodon, Facebook, Diaspora, Instagram or Snapchat, who uses their phone to talk?
Secondly, THE RIDICULOUSLY LOUD BACKGROUND NOISE, will make almost everyone who would still make a call opt for text anyway.
1986
Hey, it's only 35 years since mobile/cellular phones were launched in the UK. Well done with keeping up with the times, London Underground.
"leveraging the power of 5G to deliver city-wide improvements " It will take a lot more than the power of 5G to improve London city-wide. IMHO.
Re: 1986
Mobile phone coverage in metro systems is typically a solved problem. In many cities across the world this has been possible for nearly two decades.
The standard approach is to use a [1]'leaky feeder' . This is essentially a coax cable along the tunnel wall with little holes punched in the outer mantle so it acts as a very long aerial. This is also how Tube drivers already communicate with the control centre. The Tube uses [2]a packet switched radio system called 'Connect' that isn't even that far from standard mobile telecoms.
The London situation, at least for the deep level lines, has always been a bit of a barrier as there is sometimes [3]not even ten centimetres between the train and the tunnel lining to install the infrastructure.
It looks as if they finally found a solution that is not only technically possible but also economically viable. Although it might only make economic sense because the infrastructure cost are offset by being able to lay a cross London fibre network without major digging and renting out capacity.
[1] https://www.thalesgroup.com/sites/default/files/database/assets/images/2020-01/19667---Connect-Graphic-v2.png
[2] https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2006/october/new-digital-tube-radio-rollout-now-underway
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground_infrastructure#/media/File:Why_London_Underground_is_nicknamed_The_Tube.jpg
Thanks I hate it
In principle, a useful and practical addition.
In reality, the first person to share a 20 minute phone conversation with their spouse about what they're having for dinner when they get home with 130 trapped, hot, and stressed commuters on the edge of snapping may not have to Mind The Gap ever again...