Get the cell phones charged and ready for the daily commute: Metro is slated to offer expanded cell phone service starting Friday at the 20 busiest underground rail stations.
Those who use AT&T, Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile finally will be able to join the ranks of Verizon customers and text and gab away on their phones while waiting for trains.
“We’re still on track,” Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel said Tuesday. “Everything is supposed to be ready by Friday.”
The transit agency is adding the service as part of a three-year deal with Congress to secure $1.5 billion in federal funding over 10 years.
The measure requires Metro to have the additional cell phone service in the 20 busiest stations by Friday, then all 47 underground stations by October 2010. However, service throughout the entire system — meaning inside the tunnels — isn’t required to be finished until October 2012, so calls likely will but cut off for the next three years as trains pull away from the platforms.
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Some riders may have noticed some AT&T phones showing signal strength already. The DCist blog reported last week that it found signals on an AT&T phone in the L’Enfant Plaza station.
But Taubenkibel said some AT&T phones have picked up service in some parts of stations such as Metro Center and Gallery Place for years. The L’Enfant signals are not part of the new rollout, he said.
But Taubenkibel said some AT&T phones have picked up service in some parts of stations such as Metro Center and Gallery Place for years. The L’Enfant signals are not part of the new rollout, he said.
Only Metrorail riders with Verizon service have been able to use their phones regularly in the underground train system, with some complaining even then about spotty service.
In 1993, Metro agreed to allow Bell Atlantic Mobile Systems, which later became Verizon Wireless, to build a wireless network in the underground system in exchange for a public safety radio communications network and $20,000 per year.
But the new deal with the four cell phone companies will bolster the agency’s coffers over the next 25 years with more than $50 million. Other cell phone carriers could join the network by reaching agreements with Metro or the group of carriers at an additional cost.
