10 September 2008
O2 signs up to Subway WiFi service
Mobile communications operator O2 is to install services in five Glasgow Subway stations.
The deal, with SPT and transmission provider Arqiva, is part of the roll-out of wireless access across the Subway network.
The project to provide a combined cellular and Wi-Fi network on a fully underground rail system is a UK first.
O2's service will be installed in Buchanan Street, St Enoch, Kelvinbridge, Hillhead and Partick stations and is scheduled to go live in December.
The service will work via a multi-user distributed antenna system and will provide access in stations and on platforms.
When the service launches, O2 customers will be able to use 2G services such as phone calls and text messaging as well as 3G services like video and internet access.
Derek McManus, O2 Chief Technology Officer, said: "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.
"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."
Gordon MacLennan, SPT's Assistant Chief Executive (Operations), said: "This has been some time in the planning but I’m delighted that we can offer this service to our passengers in time for Christmas.
"It’s a first for Glasgow and it opens the door for wider WiFi coverage in the Subway in future.
"Accessibility and connectivity are key parts of our continuous Subway modernisation programme."