Full-fibre broadband – which promises to allow users to download a HD feature film in less than 30 seconds – is only available to 11 per cent of London properties, with most Londoners relying on outdated copper cables to carry internet traffic the ‘last mile’ to their properties.
The £10m project to replace copper with fibre-optic cables will link homes and businesses to the internet via public buildings like libraries and local community centres. Writing in City AM, City Hall’s chief digital officer Theo Blackwell said that the hundreds of kilometres of cabling laid out throughout the Tube network to provide connectivity to commuters will play a major role in the broadband rollout.
“We’re delighted that we can help increase connectivity across the city by using the London Underground to help provide better broadband internet,” said Shashi Verma, CTO for Transport for London, “This work is on top of our wider plans to remove one of London’s biggest ‘not-spots’ by bringing 4G to the Tube network, with the first section on track to go live from March 2020.”