{"id":9393,"date":"2017-01-07T03:15:38","date_gmt":"2017-01-07T10:15:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=9393"},"modified":"2017-01-07T03:17:36","modified_gmt":"2017-01-07T10:17:36","slug":"subway-adds-wireless-in-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/?p=9393","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Subway adds wireless"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"content\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>Talk and text underground: limited cellphone coverage now available on TTC subway<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>A stretch of Line 1 is now equipped with cellphone coverage, but only for certain customers<\/b><\/p>\n<p>By\u00a0Trevor Dunn,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/cbc-news-online-news-staff-list-1.1294364\">CBC News<\/a>\u00a0Posted: Jan 06, 2017 6:08 PM ET\u00a0Last Updated: Jan 06, 2017 6:08 PM ET<\/p>\n<p>Courtney Modest, a regular TTC rider, is looking forward to more cellphone coverage on the subway. It&#8217;s currently available for some customers between Wellesley and Queen stations. (CBC)<\/p>\n<p>Like it or not, it&#8217;s now possible to have a cellphone conversation between subway stations on the TTC.<\/p>\n<p>You can talk about weekend plans, an annoying roommate, or even that a weird skin condition you should really get checked out.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, the potential conversations to be had \u2013 and\u00a0overheard \u2013 are endless. But just who can have them, and where, is still very limited.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b><\/b><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/ttc-wifi-subway-riders-internet-1.3853917\"><b>TTC Wi-Fi &#8216;great while it lasts,&#8217; but could be better, riders say<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Testing is still underway, but the TTC has confirmed there is now cellphone coverage between Wellesley and Queen stations on the Yonge-University line, but it&#8217;s only for Freedom\u00a0Mobile\u00a0customers.<\/p>\n<p>The TTC plans to continue expanding the coverage area and have the entire subway system covered within the next 18 to 24 months.<\/p>\n<p><b>Only Freedom Mobile customers can use the network<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Other cellular providers may sign on to the TTC&#8217;s network, but so far it&#8217;s only the one firm.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m pretty excited,&#8221; Courtney Modest\u00a0said outside of Dundas\u00a0station.<\/p>\n<p>Modest, 21, is a regular TTC rider and said she&#8217;s looking forward to being able chat on her phone during her commute.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not that loud when I talk on the phone so I highly doubt people would even hear me,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, texting is also available.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Talking no, text yes,&#8221; fellow TTC rider Vanessa Naughton said.<\/p>\n<p>TTC rider Vanessa Naughton likes the idea of cellphone coverage in subway tunnels, but only for texting. (CBC)<\/p>\n<p>Naughton, 28, doesn&#8217;t like not being unable to communicate while she&#8217;s on the subway.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;re late, if there&#8217;s a delay \u2014 especially for work,&#8221; she said. &#8220;If I need to contact my boss, it would be nice to have that option.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But only by text; Naughton doesn&#8217;t approve of cellphone conversations on public transit.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If my phone rings on the streetcar I don&#8217;t answer it,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>The TTC isn&#8217;t paying to equip the subway system with cellphone coverage or Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s being done by BAI Communications, which is paying the TTC $25 million over 20 years to run the network.<\/p>\n<p>TTC spokesman Brad Ross says there are &#8220;many benefits&#8221; to having cellphone coverage on subway lines. (CBC)<\/p>\n<p>Wi-Fi expansion at TTC subway stations continues. All underground stations should have Wi-Fi by the end of May, according to TTC spokesman Brad Ross.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are many, many benefits,&#8221; he said in an interview on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>With cellphone coverage, TTC customers will be able to stay connected with family and friends during long subway rides, Ross said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It also allows the TTC to communicate directly with our customers whenever there may be issues with the system.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>As for concerns about loud conversations on crowded subway cars, Ross hopes TTC riders will be their usual courteous selves.<\/p>\n<p>There are no plans for implementing GO train-style &#8220;quiet cars&#8221; where cellphone conversation is prohibited.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I think people will need to govern themselves accordingly and be respectful of those around them, as is the case now on streetcars and buses,&#8221; Ross said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/ttc-cellphone-subway-1.3925113\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/canada\/toronto\/ttc-cellphone-subway-1.3925113<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Talk and text underground: limited cellphone coverage now available on TTC subway A stretch of Line 1 is now equipped with cellphone coverage, but only for certain customers By\u00a0Trevor Dunn,\u00a0CBC News\u00a0Posted: Jan 06, 2017 6:08 PM ET\u00a0Last Updated: Jan 06, 2017 6:08 PM ET Courtney Modest, a regular TTC rider, is looking forward [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,373,3,19,374,175,371,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-canada","category-car-wifi","category-health_and_safety","category-ontario","category-subway","category-texting","category-toronto","category-wifi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9393"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9395,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9393\/revisions\/9395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emrabc.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}