Going underground just got a little less scary; as of today, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority is rolling out Wi-Fi and cell service to 30 stations across the city.
Previously, Wi-Fi was available at a handful of stations on the L and C/E lines, but starting today, it can be found at locations like Times Square, Columbus Circle and other stops on the West Side from 18th to 96th street in the from of free, corporate-sponsored Boingo hotspots. For those who want to check some texts as well, there will also be subterranean cell service, though for the moment that's limited to those with AT&T or T-Mobile, but Verizon and Sprint are on the way.
And this is only the beginning. In phase two of the project, Wi-Fi and service will come to Queens and Midtown by 2014 with the Bronx and the East Side to follow. By 2016, the MTA says all stations will be hooked up. And if the service at the subway station I am posting this from is any indication, it looks like it'll work just fine, if not quite amazingly. Bring on the future.
Here's a list of all the stations (some are repeated if different lines have different platforms):
- 23 Street – 8 Avenue: CE Lines
- 14 Street – 8 Avenue: ACE Lines
- 14 Street – 7 Avenue: 123 Lines
- 14 Street – 6 Avenue: FM Lines
- 14 Street – 8 Avenue: L Line
- 14 Street – 6 Avenue: L Line
- 96 Street: BC Lines
- 86 Street: BC Lines
- 28 Street: 1 Line
- 18 Street: 1 Line
- 81 Street-Museum of Natural History: BC Lines
- 72 Street: BC Lines
- 79 Street: 1 Line
- 23 Street: 1 Line
- 96 Street: 123 Lines
- 66 Street-Lincoln Center: 1 Line
- 72 Street: 123 Lines
- 57 Street: F Line
- 47-50 Streets-Rockefeller Center: BDFM Lines
- 57 Street-7 Avenue: NQR Lines
- 28 Street: NR Lines
- 50 Street: 1 Line
- 50 Street: CE Lines
- 23 Street: NR Lines
- 49 Street: NR Lines
- 5 Avenue-53 Street: EM Lines
- 59 Street-Columbus Circle: 1 Line
- 59 St-Columbus Circle: ABCD Lines
- 7 Avenue: BDE Lines
- Times Square-42 Street: 123 Lines
- Times Square-42 Street: NQR Lines
- Times Square-42 Street: 7 Line
- Times Square-42 Street: ACE Lines
- Times Square-42 Street: S Line
- 5 Ave.-59 Street: NR Lines
- 86 Street: 1 Line