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Soon We'll Watch TV as We Travel on Tube; Commuters May Tune into Television or Surf the Net Underground By Mark Prigg TUBE commuters are to be offered the chance to spend their journeys watching TV, listening to the radio or working on their laptops. London Underground is planning to install the necessary technology to access broadcasts via the phone and digital radio. It also plans to offer wireless internet access in stations and on trains so that commuters using laptops can check their email or surf the net. A trial of the service will begin next year and a full system should be in place in all 270 Underground stations by 2008. The news comes days after the Evening Standard revealed that LU is negotiating with a series of telecoms firms to install mobile phone transmitters across the Tube network, allowing passengers to make calls uninterrupted by tunnels while on the move. More than 70 firms are vying to win the contract. Today it emerged that transmitters allowing 3G phones to pick up radio and television and giving internet access would be installed at the same time. P ro grammes wo u ld include bespoke "Tube TV" shows giving out travel information. "We will already have mobile phone transmitters, so this is an obvious next step," an LU spokesman confirmed. "We could offer a mix of live TV channels and programming created specifically for Tube passengers. "TV, radio and internet access are just our initial ideas and we will be looking for companies who tender to come up with their own as well. Who knows? Maybe they will come up with something even more radical." Mayor Ken Livingstone has supported the idea. "We want to see how technology could be taken even further, for instance wireless internet, so passengers could receive up-totheminute travel information via their laptop or mobile phone," he said. The underground television signals will be sent over a 3G phone network and users with compatible handsets will simply choose what they want to watch from a list of channels onscreen. "This is exactly the same technology as that used above ground - all we plan to do is offer the full range of services underground as well, " said the LU spokesman. However, some critics have expressed concerns that the arrival of Tube TV and digital radio could mean unwanted noise for passengers. "This is absolutely horrendous. As if mobiles weren't enough, now we will have televisions blaring," said Peter Wakeham of the Noise Abatement Society. "The Tube is loud and packed enough as it is. Why don't they spend this money on getting the trains running properly instead?" It had been hoped that "quiet carriages" could be reserved for those who do not want to listen to their fellow commuters' conversations. But LU said the idea was logistically impossible. "We will focus on education instead," said the spokesman. "People need to be told to be tolerant, so we will be running ads similar to those found on overground trains." Campaigners also expressed fears the new services could increase the amount of radiation commuters would be exposed to and called for Mr Livingstone to order a full safety check of the transmitters. There have been concerns that living or working near mobile phone masts can cause health problems, including cancer. Fears have also been raised about other possible long-term damage to health. However, a series of international studies have failed to prove conclusively a link between the transmitters and ill-health. TUNNEL VISION - HOW THE SYSTEM WILL WORK 1.Commuters can watch TV on their mobiles, choosing from dozens of channels. They can also use the web and even make video calls Transmitters on platform and trains send out a mobile phone signal, along with digital TV and radio, and wireless internet 2.Portable digital radios can operate underground 3. Laptops can access high speed internet connections Source: The Evening Standard Home