Your Entire CTA Red And Blue Line Commute Will Now Have 4G Coverage
By Mae Rice in News on Dec 30, 2015 3:41PM
Get excited to refresh your email ceaselessly for your entire commute! The Red and Blue lines now have comprehensive 4G coverage, according to a CTA statement released Tuesday.
Because these are the only two train lines with underground stations, this makes Chicago the biggest city with 4G coverage throughout its subway system.
The 4G installation, which began in Jan. 2015, is the product of a deal The Chicago Infrastructure Trust brokered with the four top wireless providers: T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
The providers funded and designed the Distributed Antenna System that gives the train lines 4G coverage. Overall, it’s worth $32.5 million, but was free to the city, according to a CTA spokesperson.
“This is a great example of the good work the Infrastructure Trust and corporate partners can do for Chicago,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel said.
Transit agency president Dorval R. Carter Jr. further explained the value of the new system:
“4G wireless communications is just one of the cornerstones of the CTA’s commitment to investing in technology,” he said. “This coverage increases safety by providing more reliable communications for CTA personnel and emergency responders, and it complements other technologies that are enhancing the way we commute, including expanded transit tracker information and the installation of more than 23,000 security cameras throughout our bus and rail system.”
Just this month, those security cameras helped resolve an assault case in Rogers Park.