Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    METRO riders on the Luobao and Shekou lines are able to access free Wi-Fi as of yesterday, the operator, Shenzhen Metro Group, announced.

    Free Wi-Fi on Huanzhong Line will begin at the end of September and on Longgang Line in the first half of 2015, company officials said at a news conference yesterday.

    Shenzhen is the first city in China whose free Wi-Fi service will cover its Metro stations and trains.

    Shenzhen Metro Group began its free Wi-Fi project in cooperation with Shenzhen Southern Galaxy Technology Co. in 2013, after some personal Wi-Fi hotspot signals had disrupted its operations and halted Metro trains.

    To access the service, passengers should first go to a metro station, then connect to the network called “MyWiFi” and afterwards download the company’s mobile application (dubbed “Peanut”), which is only searchable by using the Chinese name, “花生app” or “(huasheng)app” — and, finally, register on the app to receive a verification code.

    During its initial stage, the Metro company offered 88,888 verification codes, which have all been used, and after two weeks will expand that to 288,888 codes. In a month, Metro riders will be able to access the free Wi-Fi service without a code.

    The Peanut software, which was developed to promote the city’s Metro culture, contains updated information, videos and games, and aims to help riders enjoy their Metro trips.

    Around 3 million residents in the city use the Metro every day.

    For questions, users can call 4001000780. No English service is available.