High-brow news rag, The Guardian has reported that the complete 23.5-mile length of the Channel Tunnel will be equipped with telephone communications and internet ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games which begin in June.
The Euro Tunnel, which was officially opened by Her Majesty the Queen in May of 1994, links Folkstone, Kent to Calais in France by an underwater concrete tube which at its deepest is around 250ft below sea level. This is hardly the most opportune location to make a phone call, send a text or Google a map on your data connection and the French end of the “Chunnel” – a partnership between some of the country’s main networks including Free Mobile and France Telecom Orange is planning on making sure the traffic of travellers into the capital for the games will be able to communicate easily as well as benefit from social networking and arrange their journey with friends and family – this through 2G and 3G courtesy of signal tech co. Alcatel-Lucent.
During the period leading up to the London it’s estimated that the overall number of spectators is set to reach around 500,000 including both UK residents and those travelling from overseas – or under it as the case may be – and the ODA (Olympic Delivery Authority) has urged spectators to leave their vehicles at home and instead use public transport, meaning the Channel Tunnel will be the obvious access route for most European travellers.
Similar plans to provide phone communication and Wi-Fi to the London Underground network ahead of the games were put on hold recently due to funding issues. Wait a minute.. Aren’t we supposed to be hosting this thing?
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