Disqus
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]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
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