It has been almost 3 years since we were promised cell phone service on subway platforms. The economy tanked which caused Transit Wireless LLC to not be able to fulfill its promise. It is finally back on track thanks to Broadcast Australia which has taken a majority stake in Transit Wireless LLC. This is the same company that oversaw the wireless rollout for the Hong Kong subway system.
The agreement gave Transit Wireless two years to hook up six stations near 14th street with wireless. After that they have another four years to complete the rest of the 271 underground stations. They are installing small access points in the six stations within the next two months after which they will be rolling out to new stations at 10-15 stations a month.
This will finally give riders some mobile service on platforms and some parts of the tunnels. Truthfully I wish there would be a way to stop people from making phone calls on the trains yet still give them access to data. So far AT&T, Verizon, & Sprint look like they are signed up to pay Transit Wireless for using its network. I just cannot wait to finally get email on the subway or be able to check Google Maps while waiting for a train.
What do you think about cellular access on the subway?
via Bloomberg
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