By Rob Dale
Brixton tube station will be one of the first to become Wi-Fi enabled under a deal between London Underground and Virgin Media.
The service will be available for free from July until the end of summer for the 27,000 passengers who use Brixton station every day, however after the Paralympic Games, commuters will have to pay an undisclosed fee to Virgin Media for access.
Access will be available in the ticket hall, the escalators and along the platforms. Users will then be reactivated automatically when they next arrive at a Wi-Fi-enabled station (Stockwell will not have Wi-Fi, whereas Oval, Vauxhall and Clapham North all will).
In total, 80 stations are to be covered by the development this summer, with another 40 being added by the end of the year.
The amount Virgin Media have paid for the five-year deal is “commercially confidential”, but GLA/TFL have confirmed that no tax-payer money is being used is to fund the development of the system.
Gareth Powell, London Underground’s Director of Strategy and Service Development, said: “The first stations include some of our busiest and most well-known destinations and we’re on-track for a successful launch this summer”.
BBC Technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones got a sneak preview at one station where the equipment is being tested.
The full list of stations to receive wifi is below:
