O2 enables mobile usage on UK subway
By Ben Robinson on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 12:33 PM PST In O2, Services, The Digital Life
O2 is about to switch on coverge for the first underground mobile network in the UK, in the city of…….. Glasgow! Yes, you might have thought that was going to be the London Underground, but alas no (or yes, depending on your viewpoint).
The service will start in December, and utilise a “multi-user distribution antenna system“, in five of the busiest stations – the plan being to extend the coverage onward in to the tunnels too. The whole “services” theme is in play too, with 2G/3G voice, calls, text, and data, all possible.
The tech behind this isn’t new, but there is significant cost attached – like with all infrastructure rollouts. London Underground did announce a trial last year for stations platforms and some of the tunnels, but I can’t say I noticed that ever working!
Of course, all the associated blue-sky thinking around the possibilities enabled by coverage underground doesn’t take in to account the fact that perhaps a good percentage of people won’t be in favour of this being enabled. Currently subways, and (during) flights are the only major “places” where you don’t automatically expect coverage – and even the latter of these has been under review for some time.
So what do we think? Mobile on the subways a good thing? It it does happen, I can predict some people answering the phone, and exclaiming in extremely loud voices, something along the lines of: “What…..what…..yes…….what…..I’M ON THE TUBE!” – which will be nice for the rest of us …..
[Via: Times Online]
I had heard that airlines working on enabling in-flight Wi-Fi would not be doing the same thing for voice services explicitly because they don’t want people talking on the phone throughout travel… I could see the same thinking being applied to the subway, but hey, people talk on the bus all the time…
It’s hardly necessary to enable voice conversations on the Tube – how long is the average journey – 20, 30 minutes max? Are we really in a situation where being unable to communicate for that length of time is really seriously life inhibiting?
There are so many selfish habits people display on the Tube and I can see inane and incessant loud conversations being the cause of a lot of grief and assaults if this comes to London! And don’t get me started on annoying ringtones and text alerts….