O2 brings mobile reception to the UK underground

Here’s one for you. Do you weep or rejoice at the news that mobile phones are coming underground? Oh yes, they are. Glasgow is where it begins, this December, where a multi-user distribution antenna system will be trialed in five of the busiest underground train stations.

The coverage will be provided by 02 in Buchanan Street, St Enoch, Kelvinbridge, Hillhead and Partick stations and will mean users can make voice calls, send MMS and use 3G to access the internet over a large portion of the rail network. This is the first time the technology will have been used in the UK and you can bet your Nokia 6310 it’ll be coming to a tube stop in London near you should it prove successful.

Of course, it’s already been done in the enlightened country that is Japan but then they’re probably a lot more respectful with it and less likely to announce their weekend plans to the carriage or bore all and sundry with stories of what friend x did with friend y behind the back of acquaintances a, b and c, who probably should have known better anyway.

Another objection is that the Tube is one of the last havens left where one can be at peace without contact to work, where one can simply sit down and read a book for a few stops but clearly people with these objections do not travel in rush hour.

Like it or not, it’s coming and as far as I’m concerned, the convenience outweighs the annoyance. It’s time for the last outpost of mobile resistance to fall. It’s time to embrace the future.

(via The Times)

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