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CTA Plans Expansion Of Underground Wireless Coverage

By Samantha Abernethy in News on Apr 3, 2013 10:40PM

Good news for folks who like to text while in transit: The Chicago Transit Authority announced plans Wednesday to upgrade the underground wireless communication network on the Blue and Red lines. The plan would increase speed and reliability for all major cellular service providers in the CTA subway tunnels.

From a release from the CTA office:

“To be a world-class city, Chicago must have a world-class infrastructure, so that people can get around the city efficiently, safely, and productively,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. “CTA is investing in all aspects of its infrastructure, from rails to stations to wireless access and as the quality of the service continues to improve, I am confident more and more passengers will use the system to get to work and school and enjoy their lives.”
“CTA is committed to making critical technology investments on our transit system,” said CTA President Forrest Claypool. “By taking steps to begin the process of modernizing our wireless capabilities, we are better serving our customers, including customers traveling between downtown and O’Hare International Airport as well as providing more reliable service for CTA personnel and emergency responders.”

That seems pretty cool, but we can't help but think of how many more "Honey, can you pick up some milk on your way?" conversations we'll be hearing.