London is installing 80 new wifi hotspots in its subway system, and some of the stations in the Underground that will be connected have been announced. Transport for London has named King’s Cross, Leicester Square, Liverpool Street, Oxford Circus and Stratford as some of the new locations.
The pay-as-you-go hotspots will be set up by Virgin Media, near ticket booths, escalators and platforms by the end of July, in preparation for the 2012 London Olympics. Up to 120 stations are planned to be added by the end of the year, and Virgin Mobile subscribers can log on for free.
London Underground’s strategy director Gareth Powell states, “The first stations include some of our busiest and most well-known destinations and we’re on track for a successful launch this summer, all delivered at no additional cost to fare-payers or taxpayers.”
Regarding the London Summer Olympics, organizers of the games have established some guidelines for volunteers, relating to their use of social media. Essentially, they don’t want the 70,000+ volunteers tweeting about big name athletes, or disclosing the locations of politicians and celebrities.