Free Wi-Fi service in TTC subway stations ends

TTC no longer providing free Wi-Fi in subways The TTC has officially ended access to its free Wi-Fi service inside TTC subway stations, citing costs and outdate infrastructure.

Free Wi-Fi in TTC subway stations has ended.

As of Friday, riders could no longer access TConnect service. The TTC said the decision to end the service is due to declining usage, cybersecurity concerns and increasing costs.

“With concerns about use, performance and security, the TTC has decided to decommission the service while continuing to work with Rogers on building out the fast and secure 5G cellular service in tunnels,” the transit agency said in a release last week, noting that less than three per cent of customers use the service.

The TTC initially announced in September that it was ending free Wi-Fi. During a TTC board meeting later that month, a motion to extend the service was unsuccessful, but at the same time, staff were directed to provide a cost-benefit analysis of a pilot for free Wi-Fi on bus and streetcar platforms and subway station bays.

The agency said the report will be presented to the TTC board early next year.

TConnect was launched in 2013 as an add-on to its wireless contract with BAI Canada. It was funded through pop-up advertising.

In 2023, Rogers Communications acquired BAI Canada, taking over the agreement with the TTC. The company said in a statement in September that it proposed options to the TTC to update or replace the equipment used to provide free Wi-Fi, but the transit agency chose not to continue it.