London’s Euston Underground Station Gets 4G and 5G Mobile

Transport for London (TfL) – in partnership with Boldyn Networks – today confirmed that Euston station on the Charing Cross branch platforms has today become the latest place on the London Underground to go live with 4G and 5G mobile (mobile broadband) cover, which customers of EE, Vodafone, O2 and Three UK will benefit from.

Boldyn Networks (formerly BAI) currently holds a 20-year concession deal with TfL, which was signed in June 2021 (here) and allows them to build the new 4G infrastructure and to then make it available via wholesale for Mobile Network Operators (MNO) to harness, although they won’t all go live at the same time. The goal of this is to cover the entire London Underground by late 2024 (ticket halls, platforms and tunnels).

The aforementioned mobile operators have already deployed across the eastern half of the Jubilee Line and, at the end of last year, they added 6 more stations including Holland Park, Notting Hill Gate, Queensway, Archway, Tufnell Park, Kentish Town and more. Earlier this month, they were joined by Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road, with coverage extending across the ticket halls, on the Central Line platforms and within the tunnel between the two stations.

The latest section of the Tube to get mobile coverage today will allow those arriving to the city via Euston national rail station from Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes and Crewe, who then change onto the Tube, to still access the latest travel information, social media and their emails, or make calls, and stream videos while using the underground station.

In the next few weeks, the tunnels between Camden Town, Mornington Crescent and Euston will be connected. This will create consistent mobile coverage in both the stations and tunnels on the Northern line between Archway and Euston (Charing Cross branch), a distance of around 3 miles underground. The platforms on the Bank branch of the Northern line, as well as the Victoria line platforms at Euston will also get mobile coverage in the coming months.

Currently more than 10% of Tube stations with platforms that are underground, and therefore usually unable to get a mobile signal, now have 4G and 5G mobile coverage. When combined with sections of the Tube which are above ground, this means that around 60% of the whole network has mobile coverage.

Shashi Verma, Chief Technology Officer at TfL, said:

“We’re pleased that customers using the Charing Cross branch at Euston station can now get 4G and 5G on their phones within the station, as part of the next stage of our project with Boldyn Networks to bring high-speed mobile coverage to the whole Tube network. With stations between Euston and Tottenham Court Road following within the next month, this increased connectivity will allow customers to get the latest travel information, access social media, check their emails, make calls, and stream videos while passing through these stations.”

In the coming months, further stations along the Northern and Central lines, such as Goodge Street, Chancery Lane and Bank will also get mobile coverage, helping the millions of visitors who come to Central London and in particular the West End every year better navigate the capital. Boldyn will also be progressing work to introduce mobile coverage to the southern end of the Northern line, with the first sections going live during Summer 2024.

By the end of the year, 33 stations with platforms that are underground, and therefore usually unable to get a mobile signal, as well as connecting tunnels, will have mobile coverage, increasing to more than 40 stations by Spring 2024. Due to this, around 500 people are working overnight across the Tube network to install mobile equipment, with all works needed to be tidied away before the network opens for customers every morning.