O2 customers in the Glasgow Subway will soon be the first in the UK to be able to use their mobile phones underground. O2 will be the first UK mobile phone operator in to utilise the multi-user distributed antenna system which enables mobile phones to work underground.
The contract, negotiated with transmission provider Arqiva and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), will see O2 services installed in five of Glasgows busiest Subway stations – Buchanan Street, St Enoch, Kelvinbridge, Hillhead and Partick. The installation will go live in December 2008 and, says O2, could potentially provide a benchmark for rollout in other underground stations such as London, in future.
Although initially limited to platforms and station concourses in the Glasgow Subway, the technology installed by Arqiva could eventually be used to provide coverage around the rest of the SPT underground network. Mobile coverage is already offered on some metropolitan underground systems, such as the one in Berlin, for example.
This new technology will enable customers to make calls, send and receive text messages and access a host of data services while on the subway platform, says O2s Chief Technology Officer, Derek McManus. This is the first time that any mobile phone network in the UK has implemented a service like this and O2 is delighted to be giving its customers the first chance to communicate on the underground.
O2 adds that the development of its network within the main Glasgow subway stations is a further commitment to the citys mobile infrastructure, and follows O2s successful backing of Glasgows bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Andy Norris, Arqivas Customer Delivery Director for Wireless Access describes the move as: An important development for the citizens of Glasgow. He says:
Wireless networks bring benefits to all stakeholders, and this is particularly recognised by progressive cities like Glasgow. The infrastructure provided at these stations will support many new services and opportunities.