BAI Canada and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) have announced all 75 subway stations now have LTE cellular connectivity, along with nine kilometres of subway tunnel across the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension.
This connectivity milestone will open to the public on Sunday, December 17, but for now, only Freedom Mobile has signed onto the network, as Rogers, Telus and Bell have not.
Paul McAleese, Chief Operating Officer, Freedom Mobile, said in a statement, “If you are a commuter using the subway, Freedom Mobile is the obvious choice if you value connectivity. Our customers are the first to have cellular service at all TTC subway stations to stay connected with friends, families and colleagues throughout their day.”
BAI says cell connectivity for the downtown loop tunnel from Bloor/Yonge all the way down to Union and back up to St. George station is pegged to be finished by next summer.
The cellular network, according to BAI has been designed “to accommodate any and all carriers’ spectrum and associated power needs.”
BAI Canada crews worked over 50,000 hours cumulatively and used over 50 kilometres of fibre optic cable in 2017 alone for the roll out.
Earlier this year, the ad-supported TCONNECT Wi-Fi rollout was completed at all underground stations.
It doesn’t look like Rogers, Telus and Bell will pay to join the BAI Canada cell network, as the ‘Big 3’ held out in Montreal and the same scenario looks to be playing out in Toronto.
