Three quarters of Britons against Huawei mobile network on the Tube
Yesterday we brought you news that Chinese telecoms firm Huawei were in talks to provide London’s Underground network with a mobile signal system that would allow passengers to make calls while riding the tube. Now, new research from GoodMobilePhones.co.uk has found that over three quarters of Brits are against the plans.
Surveying 1,094 Londoners aged over 18 years old and asking the question “Are you in favour of the underground mobile phone network?”, a massive 76% answered “No”. When asked why, 31% cited the increased threat of muggings on the tube, 16% were worried about increased costs to use the network, with 14% feeling that being contactable at all times would add further stress to their journey. No mention of a Mole-Men hi-jacking though, which would have certainly been my first concern.
In an interesting comparison to the 31% of negative respondees who feared an increased violent threat, the 24% in favour of the proposals felt the network could actually increase security and safety on the Underground.
Mark Owen, founder of GoodMobilePhones.co.uk and not the pint-sized star of Take That, commented on the findings;
“The news of the underground mobile network certainly has caused quite a stir, but I am surprised to see so many people are against it. Not only would it mean you could make calls on the tube, but it could be a great success in the case of any emergency.”
“There are obviously risks with having increased usage of mobile phones on the tube, but these are things that can be sorted. Having an underground mobile phone network is the next logical step, following in the footsteps of Paris and Hong Kong, who have had no major problems.”
And, just because I can’t get over how great this picture is, here are those darstadly Mole Men once more, who I’m sure would really appreciate a bit of mobile coverage when out scouring the tube tunnels for hapless victims:
