Beijing Metro Upgrading its Underground Cellular Coverage

Beijing's commuter railway network plans to clear all blind spots for mobile telecommunication ahead of the Olympics in August. The Beijing Subway currently operate eight lines, and the oldest two have many blind spots for mobile phones and WiFi connections, the Beijing Daily reported. Passengers on those lines complain about frequent dropped calls or poor signal reception.

Over the past seven months, the Beijing Subway has deployed 43 telecom control centers as well as 1,507 transmitters in stations and subway tunnels along the two oldest railway lines. Travelers on the two subway lines should get improved mobile phone coverage but also access to Wi-Fi services.

The subway has spent some US$614 million on various technology upgrades, including an NFC based ticketing system as used in several networks - and which could potentially be built into mobile phones as has happened in Japan.

Beijing had 142 kilometers of subway in 2007, but planned to expand it to 561 kilometers, with 19 lines by 2020.

Posted to the site on 1st May 2008