Wi-Fi and Cell Phone Service Coming to New York City Subways

Did I just hear a huge collective sigh coming from the other coast? As reported by Bloomberg, following a nearly three-year delay, New York City's subway stations will soon have both cell phone and Wi-Fi service. This is thanks to Transit Wireless LLC, the group initially awarded the contract in 2007, securing new financing from Broadcast Australia.

The deal means Transit Wireless has two years to wire six underground stations in Manhattan, then up to four more years for the other 271 subterranean hubs. Installation of the "smoke-detector size antennas" for the first six stations will begin by the end of September, and future installation could happen "at a rate of 10 to 15 per month," according to Alex Mashinsky, CEO of Q-Wireless Inc., a company that's part of the Transit Wireless group. The price tag is in the $200 million neighborhood, and that doesn't include money that Transit Wireless owes transit authority, which is another $46 million.

Along with helping provide the millions of subway passengers with much-needed access, it also should help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which is dealing with its own budget issue, a gap that's nearing $1 billion in 2010. And since the installations are limited to the platforms, regular train service won't be affected.

Photo by Premshree Pillai via Flickr.