The city of Chicago announced today that work is complete on a project giving 4G wireless service to all CTA subway routes. Work was recently completed on the Red Line, about a month after the entire length of the Blue Line had wireless service fully installed.
Chicago is now the largest city in North America to provide wireless service throughout its entire subway system, the CTA claims. Though the Blue and Red Lines are the only trains that go underground, they're the lines that transport the highest number of people each day, at about 400,000 riders between the two, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The project cost nothing to taxpayers as it was financed entirely by big-name wireless carriers AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon. The companies are each expected to pay the CTA around $500,000 per year to lease the space for the wireless infrastructure. That $500,000 lease is set to increase by 3 percent every year as long as the 20-year agreement remains in place. Even so, the wireless companies will probably rake in millions in profits with the increased amount of data being used by their customers.
The best news is the CTA stands to save money while at the same time its bringing more in. The CTA estimates it'll save $400,000 every year it doesn't have to maintain the wireless networks.
Keep an eye on that data plan and enjoy your subterranean internet, Chicago.