NYC Transit officials are ready to announce Phase 2 of a plan that will eventually provide WiFi and cell service in all 277 underground stations in the system. The expansion will add 11 more stations in Manhattan including major hubs such as Grand Central, Penn Station and Herald Square, and 29 stations in Queens. MORE here from Bloomberg News.
If this Gumbo’s a little skeptical, it may be because a) he’s a New Yorker, and b) because almost exactly the same announcement was made in February, listing the same stations and the same benefits, and promising that all would be online and running by the summer.
Transit Wireless is a company formed for this project; it’s owned by the phone and data carriers, which have paid part of the costs. The other revenue stream is the potential for advertising, and also sponsorships (“WiFi at this station is sponsored by…”)
Everything here seems to be a big to-do; we’ve been on lots of European systems that have had full service, including tunnels, for quite a while. We’re also way behind on “train will arrive” signs, because the NYCTA way is to design from scratch instead of buying what others already use…
This is supposed to be the current list of stations with wireless and Wi-Fi service.
http://www.nycsubwaywireless.com/
What I don’t understand is if this a free service ,how exactly does Transit Wireless, make money ? Are the phone carriers paying for them?
http://www.transitwireless.com…or-transit-agencies/