Telcos bid for NYC commuter rail wireless broadband contract
September 3, 2009
Cablevision, Verizon and AT&T were among more than a dozen companies to submit proposals to provide wirelessbroadband service on New York City commuter trains, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority sought proposals from companies interested in providing broadband internet access on the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road lines, which carry millions of passengers to and from the city daily.
Free Wi-Fi is already available to passengers on the commuter rail lines of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. AT&T has provided free wireless internet access on MBTA trains since December 2008. At least two cars in every train on 13 separate commuter lines to and from Boston have Wi-Fi.
Cablevision, which provides cable and broadband internet services exclusively in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut tri-state region, proposed providing the MTA with control over part of the network in order to monitor trains and electronic ticketing, according to the Journal.
Kevin Curran, a senior vice president with Cablevision, told the Journal that about half of the Metro North and Long Island Railroad riders are already Cablevision customers.
"We've been in this business now for a year, and the response from our customers is overwhelming," Curran said. "They want broadband access on the trains."
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