Phone coverage across the London tube? That’s sent me hurtling down a tunnel of despair

‘Who has the self-discipline not to doom scroll all the way down the Central line? Not me, that’s for sure.’ Photograph: Kirsty O’Connor/PA

Rejoice! For by the end of 2026, 4G and 5G mobile coverage is expected across the whole London underground network. After months of delays and setbacks, 121 subterranean tube stations will be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, joining Paris and Berlin in perma-connectivity bliss. But should we really be so happy about the rollout?

Going deep underground was once a way of escaping the incessant communications of this exhausting modern life. Emails to respond to? WhatsApp messages piling up? The tube used to be one of the last remaining bastions of resistance against the constant expectation to do. To optimise. A simpler place where you could justifiably and believably ignore messages and reply later with a “sorry, I was on the tube”.