
Passengers travelling through the Channel Tunnel will soon be able to use their mobile phones following a breakthrough in signal technology.
Earlier this month, Eurotunnel, which manages the 23-mile link between Folkestone and Calais, announced a deal with four mobile providers, including France Télécom Orange and Free Mobile, to provide mobile phone coverage for passengers seated 250ft under the seabed.
The deal will reportedly be officially signed next month, with the new 3G and 2G enabled system expected to go live in July, in time for the London Olympics.
The move comes after French technology group Alcatel-Lucent worked out how to link an undersea tunnel with mobile signals for the first time.
Advances in technology in recent years have seen signals penetrate underground locations, with users already able to make and receive calls via their mobile handsets on the deepest parts of the Paris metro.
However, similar plans for people travelling on the London underground were shelved last year due to a lack of funding.