LONDON – London’s underground Tube train network has WiFi, but only in the stations. Meanwhile, the likes of Tokyo, Barcelona, Hong Kong and Melbourne, all have WiFi connectivity in tunnels. The Tube will soon be getting 4G, but that does not mean there will be no restrictions.  Wired looked into why WiFi is still only in stations, and found multiple reasons, with cost and the shape of the tunnels high-up the list.

London’s failure to connect has multiple causes. First is cost. “Technically, it is straightforward, although expensive, to deliver Wi-Fi in stations,” says Matthew Griffin, head of commercial telecoms at TfL. To install it, individual access points have to be placed within the station ceiling or hidden in voids, with flat antennas providing the signal. While this sounds simple, it’s very expensive to lay cabling to reach all these access points.

We’ve heard stories about iPhones identifying heart defects. However, AppleInsider picked up on another way an iPhone has saved a life – the device blocked an arrow shot at it’s user!  Police in New South Wales, Australia, were called by a man reporting someone wielding a bow and arrow. When the victim went to take a picture of the assailant, they fired an arrow, which was absorbed by the iPhone.

The arrow struck the iPhone, with the arrowhead partially passing through the device but ultimately embedding the ammunition… This is not the first time a person has escaped major harm thanks to the company’s hardware. In 2017, a witness to a shooting at a Fort Lauderdale airport revealed a MacBook Pro in his backpack was hit by a stray bullet, one that could have caused serious injury.