New York subway stations to be wired for cellular

All 277 stations of the New York City subway system are to be wired for cellphone access, New York state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority has announced. A private group called Transit Wireless will actually pay the New York City Transit Authority $46.8 mllion to do this, over the course of 10 years, spending another $150-200 million for the actual building of infrastructure. TW's compensation should come in the form of revenue from cellular companies, who will have to pay to have their phones function. The first six stations should be outfitted within two years, the rest being finished within another four.

The beginning stations will include 23rd Street and 14th Street on the Eighth Avenue line, 14th Street on the Seventh Avenue line, 14th Street on the Sixth Avenue line, and Eighth Avenue and Sixth Avenue on the L line.

All parts of the stations will be equipped, from entryways and platforms through to transfer passages, allowing seamless transition between outdoor and indoor reception. The one part of the subway that will not carry cellular, however, is the trains, a concession meant to prevent a cacophony of talking riders. [via New York Times]