Transit Wireless: Unwiring the NYC SubwayTransit Wireless: Unwiring the NYC Subway

NEW YORK -- If you've ridden the subway in midtown New York City recently you may have been pleasantly -- or perhaps unpleasantly -- surprised to find that you can now get connected over 4G or WiFi down there.

The source of this connectivity is housed on a factory loft floor in an unassuming building on the west side of 30th Street in the Big Apple. Within its white walls stands a welter of wireless, WiFi, and optical equipment designed to bring the Web, email, and voice calls to users waiting for their trains. (See 4G LTE Grows (Above & Below).)

For this is the home of the first Transit Wireless LLC basestation hotel. Click on the image below to see more:

Figure 1: 4G to the C Train 3G, 4G, and WiFi have started to arrive in Manhattan, thanks to Transit Wireless.

As it stands, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile US Inc. have multi-frequency 3G and 4G cellular RF gear installed in the facility. AT&T has noticeably more equipment deployed than its Magenta rival. Boingo Wireless Inc. is the WiFi partner for the venture.

Verizon Wireless is due to deploy in the basestation hotel later this year. Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) expects to hop on the subway service early in 2014. Once those carriers have deployed, the 30th Street location will be nearly full to the brim. (See Verizon Onboard With NYC Subway Wireless.)

So, what's actually happening?

Transit Wireless is undertaking the five-year project in partnership with the MTA to design and deploy 3G and 4G LTE cellular and WiFi services in all 277 stations in the New York subway system.