One would expect the recent news that by the end of next year Wi-Fi will be available in 120 stations around the underground, would be met by universal approval among Londoners.
Particularly as Virgin Media will be providing the wireless broadband service in the underground at “no cost to the fare or taxpayers”.
I for one enjoy the idea of being able to update my news apps on the move whilst travelling by tube. It is so frustrating at the moment trying to load something and then losing signal halfway through or not being able to send and receive emails.
London’s mayor, Boris Johnson, welcomed the news saying:
“Millions of passengers will now be able to connect to their work, friends or access the latest news and travel information whilst on the move.”
You would expect commuters to be equally overjoyed about having Wi-Fi underground. However this latest announcement has not met everyone’s seal of approval. Indeed 55 per cent of Londoners are quite unhappy about the announcement a recent survey has found.
One of the main issues raised was about privacy being compromised. The study was carried out by My Voucher Codes who conducted a poll of 950 Londoners aged 18+ and 31 per cent of those were also against the idea because they believe it will lead to an increase in thefts due to more people having laptops and tablets on show.
Other concerns raised were about it causing an increase in stress whilst travelling and less space on tubes due to people using their laptops.
Personally, I welcome Wi-Fi on the London Underground and think it will have more positive impacts than some of the trivial negatives people have raised so far.
The service will initially be free but eventually people wanting full access will have to sign up to the provider’s ‘pay as you go’ service unless they are existing Virgin Media customers.