Underground, but not unconnected -- BART offers wireless service to riders

It's almost shocking that it's taken as long as it has to get cell service into places like mass transit tunnels. The one thing that appears constant in all of these stories is that there is almost universal disapproval among passengers when the plans are being considered followed by almost universal acceptance of the service once it is available. This reminded me of the post I wrote about Jeff Jarvis saying companies should listen to the customers about what products/services to deploy.

When BART first broached the idea in mid-2001 of wiring its nether regions for wireless reception, many passengers squawked about having to listen to nonstop chatter from cellular phones.

Link: Underground, but not unconnected -- BART offers wireless service to riders.

BART has become the first transit system in the nation to offer wireless communication to all passengers on its trains underground, putting an end to miles of technological isolation for multitasking commuters with cell phones glued to their ears, Blackberry devices stuck in their palms and computers perched on their laps.

Comments

[John]

I'm glad it has finally come to BART since I use the service on occasion. However to put it in better perspective how behind the U.S. is in this respect, I helped with the launch of Hong Kong Telecom's GSM service in summer of 1993, which at that time was the first in the world to offer cellular service throughout the city's subway system...

[John]

I'm glad it has finally come to BART since I use the service on occasion. However to put it in better perspective how behind the U.S. is in this respect, I helped with the launch of Hong Kong Telecom's GSM service in summer of 1993, which at that time was the first in the world to offer cellular service throughout the city's subway system...