Yay my iPhone works inside some metro stations. I tested the network performance at each station on my way from Ballston to L’enfant Plaza. True to their word, WMATA has completed installation of 850 mhz cell service in major metro stations.
I had signal in all but three stations (filled red), the stations filled green had great signal, and I pulled decent download speeds at all of these stops. The slowest download speed was 618 kbps at McPherson Square. 1400kbps speeds at L’enfant Plaze and Foggy Bottom are just shy of the maximum download speed of the iPhone. All speed tests were conducted from inside the train car. There is no signal in the tracks, unlike with Verizon your signal drops as soon as you enter the tunnel.
Surprised by receiving a call, I immediately tweeted. These tweets indicate service started 3 days ago.
Update: I tested a few more stations. Gallery Place, Archives, and Farragut North are indicated on the map. Service inside tunnels is planned to be complete by the end of 2012.
I’ve compared the features of all the DC metro apps, and each has it’s pros and cons. This one gets a bonus for being free while also not sucking. It show you real time arrival times for the DC Metrorail and Metrobus. It’s temporarily free down from a dollar.
It’s about time. Hopefully it will work in the tunnels like Verizon, not just the station platforms.
From wmata.com
Metrorail riders soon will be able to use four major cell phone providers to make calls or access the Internet from 20 of Metro’s busiest underground stations.
Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile began installing hardware at designated Metrorail stations this weekend that will allow Metrorail customers to make calls, send text messages or surf the Web from 20 stations starting Friday, October 16.
During the next two months, the companies will install a wireless network at the following Metrorail stations: Ballston, Bethesda, Columbia Heights, Crystal City, Dupont Circle, Farragut North, Farragut West, Federal Center SW, Foggy Bottom-GWU, Friendship Heights, Gallery Pl-Chinatown, Judiciary Square, L’Enfant Plaza, McPherson Square, Metro Center, Pentagon, Pentagon City, Rosslyn, Smithsonian and Union Station.
Customers at those stations will begin to see large, cabinet-like enclosures that will house the hardware at the ends of station platforms or on mezzanines, in areas that will not impede the flow of customers or impact the safe operation of the Metrorail system. New cables and antennae also will be installed as part of this work, which will take place late at night when the Metrorail system is closed.
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