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Transport for London and Boldyn Networks are accelerating plans to blanket the entire London Underground with high-speed 4G and 5G signals by the end of 2026, expanding coverage across stations and tunnel sections amid industry-leading technical achievements.
More stations and longer stretches of tunnel on London’s Tube are now carrying high-speed 4G and 5G mobile signals as Transport for London and Boldyn Networks press ahead with a project to blanket the entire network by the end of 2026. The rollout has extended to parts of the Circle and District lines and added coverage at key stations including Euston Square, Cannon Street and Battersea Power Station, with further central London locations such as King’s Cross St Pancras, Gloucester Road, Warwick Avenue and Vauxhall expected to go live in the coming months. According to the announcement by TfL and Boldyn, 62 of the 121 Tube stations that are located underground now have mobile coverage in ticket halls, corridors and platforms, and the whole Elizabeth line was completed in December 2024. [1][6][3]
TfL and Boldyn say work to bring coverage into tunnel sections is progressing rapidly. Early tunnel activations include Circle and District line sections between Blackfriars and Cannon Street, and between Notting Hill Gate and Bayswater. The partners now expect the vast majority of the Northern and Metropolitan lines to have tunnel coverage by the end of summer 2026, and plan further rollouts along the Victoria, Jubilee, Bakerloo and Piccadilly lines through the year. Boldyn has also confirmed ongoing installation alongside other engineering work, for example at Cutty Sark, to speed customer benefits. [1][6][2]
All four UK mobile network operators, Three, EE, Vodafone and Virgin Media O2, are participating in the neutral-host rollout under the 20‑year concession awarded to Boldyn by TfL in June 2021. Boldyn says roughly 400 engineers are routinely deployed overnight to carry out installations during limited engineering hours, and the company is also building a fibre backbone across the capital to support both underground and above-ground connectivity. Boldyn’s progress figures published in December 2025 indicate substantial deployment work is already complete across stations and tunnels, with full network completion scheduled for December 2026. [1][4][5]
The programme will host the Emergency Services Network (ESN) when fully operational, which TfL and Boldyn say will give first responders immediate access to crucial data, images and information in live incidents underground. Industry reporting and Boldyn commentary note that ESN integration is a core part of the project’s public-safety case, alongside the consumer benefits of staying connected while travelling. [1][4]
Transport for London emphasises the expected social and economic benefits of ubiquitous connectivity. “It’s great to see further progress in our goal to introduce high-speed mobile coverage across our Tube network. The latest stations and tunnels going live means that we are on a clear path towards having 4G and 5G mobile coverage across the whole network by the end of 2026. Engineers are working hard overnight during the limited engineering hours to deliver this programme and we hope that customers enjoy benefitting from being able to stay in contact with friends and family, shop online and stay on top of the latest news and sports results while travelling across London,” Isabel Coman, Director of Engineering and Asset Strategy at TfL, said in a statement. Boldyn’s Nick Hudson likewise framed the work as a major engineering effort: “Our long-term partnership with TfL to extend reliable 4G and 5G mobile coverage across the London Underground is grounded in improving everyday journeys for millions of people. A project of this scale demands extraordinary engineering effort and close-knit collaboration with TfL, with work often carried out overnight in one of the world’s most complex transport networks. We’re immensely proud of what’s been achieved so far, and each section completed brings us closer to our goal of creating a more connected London for those who visit the city and those who call it home.” [1]
City and mayoral officials underlined economic and user-experience arguments for the scheme. Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance said the expansion helps people “access the latest travel information or social media, check their emails, make calls, and stream videos whilst on the move underground.” The City of London Corporation Policy Chairman Chris Hayward commented that better 5G connectivity supports the Square Mile’s role as a global financial centre and will aid efforts to attract workers back to offices. [1]
Independent industry coverage confirms many of these milestones and offers context on pace and scope. Telecoms and trade outlets reported the Elizabeth line’s full 4G coverage as a significant milestone completed in December 2024, and note continued extensions along the Northern, Bakerloo, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. Boldyn and sector reporting differ slightly on rollout percentages and precise timelines reported at different moments in 2025, but converge on full coverage being targeted by the end of 2026, with major tunnel rollouts expected through summer 2026. That industry context underscores both the technical complexity and the accelerated timetable being pursued. [3][2][4][7]
TfL and Boldyn also plan above-ground small-cell deployments on assets such as lighting columns to boost connectivity in high-footfall areas including King’s Cross, Waterloo, London Bridge, Old Street, The Shard and Hyde Park Corner. TfL notes that the ongoing Travel Kind campaign asks customers to be considerate when using devices underground and to use headphones when listening to audio content. [1][5]
📌 Reference Map:
##Reference Map:
- [1] (Wired-Gov/TfL press release) – Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2, Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 5, Paragraph 6, Paragraph 8
- [2] (Boldyn Networks news) – Paragraph 2, Paragraph 6
- [3] (Telecoms.com) – Paragraph 1, Paragraph 6
- [4] (Boldyn Networks blog) – Paragraph 3, Paragraph 4, Paragraph 6
- [5] (Boldyn Networks US news) – Paragraph 3, Paragraph 8
- [6] (Advanced Television) – Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2
- [7] (Telecompaper) – Paragraph 1, Paragraph 6
Source: Noah Wire Services
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