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Subway Cell Phone Service? Finally?
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Jul 26, 2010
Modified Jul 26, 2010
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By
Jaya Saxena
Published Jul 26, 2010
Modified Jul 26, 2010
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Though the MTA approved a project to wire the city's subway stations so commuters could call and text to their heart's delight (and their neighbors' annoyance) in September of 2007, the Authority just got around to giving Transit Wireless the go-ahead to start last week. Worried that Transit Wireless, which was "formed specifically to respond to the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Request for... a neutral, shared wireless infrastructure," didn't have solid financing, the MTA said they would have to secure funding or lose the contract. They brought Broadcast Australia on board, and the project is now "starting to move." Wait, what happened to the interns?
Unfortunately, service will mostly be on platforms and other parts of the stations themselves, not in the tunnels. Cell service providers would pay Transit Wireless to carry their signals, and the MTA would get half the revenue. The initial agreement said Transit Wireless was to rig the first batch of stations within two years of getting permission to start, and rig the rest of the 277 underground stations in four years. MTA Chairman Jay Walder pledged quick action, but really, who knows how long this will take?
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cell phone service
cell service
MTA
subway
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transit wireless
Jaya Saxena
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