Coming down the track: Cell and Wi-Fi

Cell phone service is rolling out on New York City subways. A plan for L.A. is in the works.

It’s available at the corner coffee shop, the public library and LAX. But cell phone and wireless service on the L.A. subway? Sorry, wrong number.

After several years of study, though, that may be about to change.

A Metro committee this week approved awarding a contract to InSite Wireless to build the network and serve as the host for the various cell and data service providers whose customers will be using the service as they ride the rails or wait on station platforms.

If approved by Metro’s full board next week, it will take two years to build the underground network and get cell phone service up and running. Wi-Fi access, using the same antenna system installed for cell phones, is expected to follow.

“All the major cities are doing it—even London, which has a very old infrastructure. Paris has it on all its lines,” said project manager Daniel Lindstrom, Metro’s manager of wayside communications. In the U.S., he said, cities ranging from New York to Seattle have a system in place or in the planning phases.

“My own wife is saying, ‘When are you going to get that installed so I can get ahold of you?’ ”

A report to Metro’s Executive Management Committee said the agency stands to receive at least $360,000 annually from the new system—and its share of revenue from InSite could go much higher. The report said that Bay Area Rapid Transit in northern California reported $2 million a year in new revenue after installation of cell and data services.

Passengers won’t pay extra to use their phones on the subway, but their service providers would pay a fee to InSite, which would split a portion of that revenue with Metro.

After reviewing networks in place in San Francisco, Boston and Washington, D.C., Metro concluded that “the transit experience is significantly enhanced and overall personnel and business productivity has increased when patrons have cell phone and Wi-Fi access.”

What’s more, the report said, Amtrak experienced a 2% jump in ridership since the service was installed in its trains.

Cell phone service also is expected to make it easier for public safety officials to respond to emergencies, and to make passengers feel safer when they’re on the subway or waiting on the platform.

Posted 2/21/13