London has thought of everything for this year's Olympics, including boosting wifi access across the city for the millions of expected users. Here's a look at some free hotspots available during the Games.
Credit: Flickr/JasonParis
Olympic Park
Sprawling more than 2.5km including Olympic stadium, the Velodrome, basketball arena, BMX track, the Copper Box, Aquatics Centre and external grounds, Olympic Park will host more than 1,000 BT wifi hotspots installed especially for the Games.
BT may restrict access, but The Counter Café on Ranch Road boasts a combination of free wifi and views of Olympic Stadium. There will also be free hotspots at Stratford Underground station and the Westfield Stratford City shopping center, both located close to Olympic Park’s Stratford Gate entrance.
Greenwich Park
Home to the Olympic Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon, BT wifi will be provided at Greenwich Park with free hotspots nearby including the National Maritime Museum (admission free) at the north end of the park.
Also try the Greenwich Free Wifi network sourcing wifi on the block at street level. Tally Rose from Matador Network reports “it appears to be available from the corner of Nelson Road and King William Walk, through to Greenwich Church Street, all the way to Crescent Arcade outside Cutty Sark station on the Dockland Light Railway”.
Three more wifi access points within steps from here are Davey’s Wine Vaults on Greenwich High Road; the Greenwich Union Pub on Royal Hill; and a second storey café at the Greenwich Picture House Cinema.
North Greenwich Arena and Excel London
Logging on inside the arena will be difficult, however the North Greenwich Underground station offers a City Wifi Zone in partnership with the City of London known as The Cloud. Nando’s and Wagamama alongside other shops within the arena are on The Cloud, so diners may be able to log on here.
The SSIDo network will give you access from the upper walkway of the Custom House DLR station, but otherwise there will be limited wifi at ExCel London throughout the Games. Fox’s at ExCel will be allowing paying customers to log on with a daily access code.
In and around the city
Hotspots around Hyde Park (the park itself will be limited), Earl’s Court, the Horse Guards Parade and the Mall will provide more reliable access, as will a handful of bars, pubs, and cafes on their own networks. The Cloud partners in the area include Pret-a-Manger, Caffe Nero, and Pizza Express.
Underground stations in this zone with hotspots are Hyde Park Corner, Queensway, Marble Arch, Lancaster Gate, and Green Park.
The Blackbird restaurant next to Earl’s Court Underground Station (the station itself is without wifi) and the Earl’s Court Venue have hotspots.The Mall and the Horse Guards Parade as well as a bunch of pubs in this precinct also have hotspots – be sure to check before you head in, they may require you to pay or just buy a beer.
Taxis
The London Taxi service Green Tomato Cars has installed wifi in 300 cabs across the city. The eco-friendly Toyota Super Prius hybrid taxis come with 3G Mobile Broadband SIM cards built-in.
