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Beijing Subway Removes Mobile Blind Spots
(01 May 2008, BWCS Staff)With less than 100 days to go to the start of the "greatest games on earth" in China, Beijing Subway has announced plans to clear all mobile telecoms blind spots on its lines by the start of the Games. The transit authority currently operates eight lines around the Chinese capital and the oldest of these are said to be riddled with blind spots affecting both mobile and WiFi connections. According to reports in the Beijing Daily newspaper passengers on the older lines frequently suffer dropped calls and poor signal reception.
In the seven months since September 2007, Beijing Subway has installed 1,507 new transmitters in stations and subway tunnels around the capital as well as 43 new telecom centres. The project is expected to be completed by the end of June; the transit authority did not release the expected cost of this project.
According to the newspaper, the new work on some of the lines will enable not only greater mobile reception but will allow passengers to hook up to the internet wirelessly. The technological upgrades include a new smart entry programme for all subway stations that commuters will start using later this month.
Beijing had 142 kilometers of subway in 2007, but plans to expand it to 561 kilometers, with 19 lines by 2020.
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