This article is more than 1 year old

You heard this Chicago electro underground sound? ... Yeah, it's 4G

Second City in underground LTE first

The Chicago subway system is to become the biggest transport system in North America to be completely blessed with 4G mobile broadband coverage.

The $32.5m project will use a next-gen distributed antenna system rather than the leaky feeders employed by other underground networks.

The estimated 18-month project was brought together by The Chicago Infrastructure Trust, and is entirely financed by T-Mobile US, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. Work is already underway on the Blue Line – which runs out to O’Hare International Airport and got first dibs on the new tech. The 4G/LTE network will replace the 2G system, which will be switched off completely.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel said: “By adding 4G wireless service all throughout the Chicago Transit Authority, we are bringing 21st century technology to every rider on every line of our 21st century transit system.”

At 22 miles underground, the Chicago subway system is a fraction of the size of the London underground. Plans to provide mobile coverage for the capital's underground passengers have been debated since the previous millennium; the tighter tunnel space and complex working practices mean that the only places where there is mobile coverage are where it leaks through from above.

Chicago was the first city in the world to have a cellular mobile system, so perhaps it’s fitting that it should have an advanced system underground, where at least you can shelter from the bitter weather. ®

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