6 New York City Subway Stations Getting AT&T, T-Mobile Service

NEW YORK -- The long-delayed project to wire New York City subway stations for cellphone service is finally bearing fruit. A person close to the matter said six stations will go live with the service on Tuesday.

The person speaking Friday on condition of anonymity said that AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA subscribers will be able to use their phones at six stations in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. Sprint and Verizon phones won't work there for now. The person asked not to be identified because the official announcement is on Tuesday.

Cellphone service has been available in underground stations and tunnels in San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit system since 2006, and in Boston's subway system since 2007.

The New York stations where the service will be available are on 14th Street from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue, and on 23rd Street and 8th Avenue.

The signals will cover the platforms and mezzanines of the stations, but extend only a short distance into tunnels. Cellular data services and text messaging will work in addition to calls.

The company that's doing the wiring, Transit Wireless, has another five years to set up service at the other 271 stations in the system. That means it needs to wire about one new station per week.

The project kicked off in 2007, but very little happened the first three years, as Transit Wireless ran into financing trouble. Last year, it got an injection of new capital from Broadcast Australia, which owns TV and radio towers in Australia. Broadcast Australia is in turn owned by a Canadian pension fund.

Transit Wireless is expected to spend about $200 million on the project, and has promised the Metropolitan Transit Authority another $46 million in rent over 10 years. Transit Wireless will in turn charge wireless carriers for extending their signals underground.

The New York Times reported earlier on the Tuesday kick-off.

Comments

[AcesHighSays]

12:42 PM on 09/27/2011

I live and work in NYC. I really do not see what the big fuss is about increased noise levels. For the most part, subways are above ground in the outer boroughs, so ppl are chatting away anyway; not to mention most ppl listen to music when they are in transit.

If noise is a problem for you, then you aren't meant to live in the city.

What I am more concerned about is crime. It has been on the rise since iPads and iPhones became standard. Our economy is still in the gutter and having cell phone access will tempt ppl into using their electronic devices even more.

More cops will be needed; perhaps this is a way to create jobs…

[KarateKid]

08:50 AM on 09/24/2011

So, there goes the ONE place where one can grab a few zees in relative quiet. I'd prefer if they'd refurbish the stations instead so they don't smell so raunchy.

[lensman3]

07:50 PM on 09/25/2011

My brother agrees with you. His suggestion was to charge $2.00 per call in the subway. That would make the ride very expensive.

I was in NY last month and it was nice not having to listen to 1/2 of a conversation.

[bola47]

07:55 AM on 09/24/2011

i've been using cell phones in the hong kong mtr for years, not just the stations but on trains in tunnels. the united states has the most expensive and archaic cell phone service in the world and our government wants to stifle competition and give us a choice of only two or three carriers. make lobbying illegal and then see how america can benefit.

[MikeyJaii]

11:49 PM on 09/23/2011

There's good and there's bad. Oh boy, some people can't shut their mouth and now even riding on the train it's going to be a lot harder trying to sleep.

[Michael5555]

10:56 PM on 09/23/2011

Who cares, they ll just shut them off if they feel like it anyhow .......

[edgeninja]

07:45 PM on 09/23/2011

I hate obnoxiously loud cellphone users as much as the next guy, but when it comes to the subway, safety should take precedence over everything else. There's no doubt that cellphone service becoming available in NYC subway stations will save many lives.

[NYJedi]

07:16 PM on 09/23/2011

Because the L train platforms weren't dewshy enough already.

[ManicInManhattan]

04:42 PM on 09/23/2011

Oh joy...another place where people aren't going to shut the #ELL up!

[kenhamlett]

06:46 PM on 09/23/2011

I completely agree. I am sick of sitting on the bus beside people having essential conversations like "um ... yeah, now we are crossing 36th street ... what are you doing? ... we're coming up to 34th ... what are you eating?" Of course, this is said at the top of their voice, in case the people in the last row might not be able to hear them. I understand that cell phones can be essential in times of emergency. But, the absence of courtesy and consideration by users makes them at best a dubious prospect. I would be happy if they never came into the subways.

[KarateKid]

08:52 AM on 09/24/2011

Or people who make a cell call upon landing at an airport to tell people waiting in the terminal that they've arrived, at the top of their voices.

[praesq]

03:13 PM on 09/23/2011

WHAT A NIGHTMARE THIS WILL BE!
BEING A RIDER FOR MORE THAN TWO DECADES, ITS UNBEARABLE
WITH THE I PODS; PEOPLE PLAYING TINNEY MUSIC ON THEIR CELLS AND MOST
IMPORTANTLY DISTRACTED RIDERS/PEDESTRIANS.
PUT THAT TOGETHER WITH 50 TON TRAINS AND YOU HAVE BIG TROUBLE.
ONLY THING NEEDED ARE PAYPHONES THAT DIAL 911 OR ALLOWING
CELLPHONES TO ONLY DIAL 911.
SIMPLY PUT , IT WOULD BE CRAZINESS AND FURTHER DESTROY THE SIMPLE
PLEASURE OF A TRAIN RIDE.
INSANITY!

[debby6669]

01:51 PM on 09/23/2011

Awesome. Now I get to hear a few dozen inane conversations on my way to work. What a treat!

[Michael5555]

10:57 PM on 09/23/2011

Lol

[smoker]

03:17 AM on 09/24/2011

The said inane conversations will be shouted at the top of their voices so that they can be heard over the racket the train makes. It's bad enough when the school children get on the trains and are yelling/shouting/swearing and now this.