Cell Service Coming To NYC Subways

Much to the chagrin of hypocritical technophobes and stodgy old timers (or idiot young people acting like they’re 100 years old), New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority has announced details of a deal with Transit Wireless to wire all of the 277 underground subway stations for cellular service. The city will receive $46.8 million over ten years, and the entire cost of building the network ($100 to $200 million) will be paid by Transit Wireless.

Under the agreement, the first six stations are to be those at 23rd Street and 14th Street on the Eighth Avenue line, 14th Street on the Seventh Avenue line, 14th Street on the Sixth Avenue line, and Eighth Avenue and Sixth Avenue on the L line.

For me, this service can’t come fast enough, but the real holy grail is to extend cellular signals through the underground tunnels, so riders can use the phone and/or data services while actually riding the subway, not just when they’re on the platform. It’s a great step into the future, and one that’s been a long time coming.

Of course, some people aren’t happy about this, and they are, by and large, the same ones pushing against allowing people to use cell phones on planes. Their arguments couldn’t be more vapid. First, they complain about “rude people talking,” as if being on a cell phone somehow makes rude people more rude, or (The horror! The horror!) gives people more incentive to do the very un-human (practically pre-historic!) thing called “talking.” Could it be that these folks are just upset that they can only hear half of the conversation on which they are eavesdropping?

And then, if that “argument” doesn’t work, they resort to the old-timery, but-why-do-you-have-to? innovation-killer-question.

Some idiot student with a girl’s name (Karol Ledworowski - yes, I am aware it’s the Polish version of Charles, but Charles is also a girl’s name) told the Times, “You can wait until you leave the station to make a phone call or receive a message,” before worrying aloud about terrorists setting off a bomb in the subway using their cell phones.

Now, maybe this is just me, but I don’t think that being unable to detonate explosives with a Razr 2 has anything at all to do with the reasons terrorists aren’t just planting bombs all over the Q Train. I’m sure the evil terrorists have watched just as many spy movies as Karol - enough to know that there are other great ways to set off bombs that don’t involve complex wiring. You know, like strapping them to children

EDIT: Driven By Boredom says pretty much the same thing in a bit more ranty way, and goes on a slightly off-topic but awesome tirade against the exceedingly awful “walkie-talkie” phone.

I don’t get it. Can you (or anyone) provide a logical argument for not doing this, especially when a private company is willing to pay for it?