http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=68025
Coming soon to a subway tunnel near you: wireless By Casey Ross Friday, February 11, 2005
The T is going wireless.
On subway lines in downtown Boston, passengers will soon be able to use cell phones without interruption as trains whisk them through tunnels that used to be among the few places wireless signals couldn't reach.
``This will be a new convenience for our customers,'' T General Manager Michael Mulhern said yesterday. ``And it will be a benefit to safety and security, so we're excited about it.''
The effort will begin with four stations in downtown Boston - Park Street, Downtown Crossing, Government Center and State Street - but it is expected to expand throughout the T's system in coming years.
Phone service could soon be standard throughout Boston's underground travel network if Massachusetts Turnpike officials are able to complete a deal to bring wireless to Big Dig tunnels. A Turnpike spokesman said a deal is still being negotiated.
cw1T officials hired InSite wireless, an Alexandria, Va.-based company, to install the technology in the four downtown stations and tunnels connecting them this summer.
Under its contract with the T, InSite will maintain the system for 15 years, with the T expected to earn at least $4 million in fees.
T officials said installing wireless service in subways - a recommendation of the agency's anti-terrorism task force - will enhance security by allowing passengers to call for help without having to rely on police call boxes.
The T has tried to install cellular service before, but the company hired to do the job defaulted on its contract because it could not generate deals with wireless companies.
The contract with InSite was limited to four stations to make the deals easier to accomplish.
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