Thirty New York subway stations are to have cell phone and Wi-Fi services installed as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) continues efforts to have service across all stations by 2016.
According to betabeat.com, T-Mobile and AT&T have signed ten-year contracts to provide Wi-Fi and cell service, although the network is being constructed by Transit Wireless. The stations will include Times Square, Rockefeller Centre and Columbus Circle.
CEO of Transit Wireless, Bill Bayne, said that the recent bombings and Superstorm Sandy highlighted the need for underground access.
“It’ll connect people and allow them, if there is an issue, they have somebody to talk to. To help dispatch some support,” he told cbslocal.com.
However, critics argue that the Wi-Fi could lead to a rise in gadget theft as increased number of people will have their devices on display. Ironically, the MTA launched a public service campaign last year, urging straphangers to keep their devices out of sight.
The stations that already have a network set up, offer the service free of charge to AT&T and T-Mobile customers. While travellers can connect and make phone calls at stations, it is thought that there will be no service on the trains themselves.
MTA said that it plans on expanding the network into Queens by the end of next year.
