 Underground cell phone use
Passengers riding the T in tunnels underneath downtown Boston will now be able to chat on their cellphones, text-message their friends, or use hand-held devices to e-mail their bosses from platforms and underground tunnels in and around four of the MBTA's busiest station
Yesterday, AT&T became the third cellphone provider to offer a signal underground. T-Mobile and Verizon both connected their networks earlier this month, but without any announcement from the T, many customers were not aware they could use their phones.
The service is currently being offered in Downtown Crossing, Government Center, State, and Park Street stations, and all the tunnels in between. Expansion to other stations and tunnels is expected as cellphone service providers see demand and are willing to pay for the connection.
Most riders interviewed yesterday said they appreciate the freedom to use their phones. But some also said they regretted losing one of the last places in Boston where people can both get a break from their phones and not be subjected to the noise and unwanted intrusion of others' conversations.
"I'm glad it's happening," said Samuel Kelley, 20, a college student. But "it's kind of a nuisance to be next to the person who's blabbing away, trying to overpower the sound of the trains."
The MBTA acknowledges the potential for annoyance from loud talkers and is rolling out a campaign designed to encourage passengers to keep conversations brief and quiet.
Ads will be placed in train cars with the message: "Peace and quiet. It has a nice ring to it."
Robert Karash, 58, a semiretired professor, said cellphone chatter on the buses he rides has become prevalent, but he has learned to cope.
"The key is, people have to Zen out and not really listen," he said.
The nation's subways have been slow to introduce cellphone service, in large part because carriers have not wanted to spend the money to wire tunnels. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has tried to get cellphone service into the system for most of this decade; an earlier deal fell through when companies balked at the high cost of wiring the entire T.
T-Mobile built its own limited network, available on a handful of platforms, in 2003, but its customers could not get a signal in the tunnels.
Two years later, the T contracted with InSite Wireless, which installs the wiring and antennas necessary to provide cell service. InSite is paying the MBTA at least $4 million over 15 years for the right to charge cellphone carriers for use of the system it built. When service expands - probably first to South Station, North Station, and other busy stations - the fees paid by InSite to the T will rise.
I think we can all collectively say finally its about time like emergencies don occur underground
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