The city of London, England, really wants to put tourists who flock to this summer’s Olympic games at ease. In order to make sure that the city is perfect in every manner, city officials have bee in talks with various carriers over the past few months trying to work out some kind of free WiFi deal. Today, Virgin announced that the city of London would be teaming up with the popular carrier to offer all London Olympic-goers free WiFi while using the London “tube” (or subway station).
This is excellent news to those who live in London and those who plan to travel to London this summer alike. Not having to worry about gaining free WiFi while exploring the city and enjoying the Olympic scene is something that simply makes traveling easier. In addition to offering free WiFi during the games, Virgin will continue to offer WiFi for a price after the games have ended. Details on this pricing have not yet been released yet.
WiFi Availability For Travelers
In case you’re traveling to London this summer and you’re wondering where, exactly, you can access the free Virgin WiFi, here’s the scope: you will be able to connect at ticket counters, on the platform, and on the escalators that are inside of each station. You will not be able to connect while riding inside of a tube. Easy enough, right? Just bring your phone with you (make sure those WiFi settings are turned on), and connect to your heart’s content while you wander around the subway station – just watch out for thieves who might have heard that lots of tourists will be waving smartphones around attempting to connect to free WiFi.
Joking aside, the fact that Virgin and the city of London are offering this service is very cool indeed. In fact, more cities should offer residents and tourists this kind of WiFi service. I’m betting that lots of London locals will even be willing to pay for the Virgin WiFi service following the Summer Olympics, but we’ll see how that pans out. In case you’re wondering where else you can find free WiFi in London, you can always hit up local cafes, libraries, and other spots. During the Summer Olympics, you are sure to find that many restaurants and other locations throughout London will be offering free WiFi as a way to lure tourists to various spots. In short, there’s no need to rack up a hefty bill while visiting London this summer.
After the Games Details
As mentioned, there’s no word yet as to how much Virgin will charge for WiFi access inside of the London tube following the Olympic Games. Additionally, Virgin has not yet announced when the company will be offering the free WiFi following the games, though I’m betting that this service will be available shortly after the games have ended so as not to lose any clients who have become accustomed to WiFi access while traveling by tube.
If you happen to travel a lot via subway, taking advantage of this summer’s free WiFi access is no-brainer. If you continue to travel in this manner, paying a few dollars for constant WiFi access might be beneficial too (depending on the price, of course!).