Commuters in Canada’s largest city will finally be able to send texts, access at least some emails, and generally annoy fellow passengers by taking phone calls — all while riding the subway downtown.
(Bloomberg) — Commuters in Canada’s largest city will finally be able to send texts, access at least some emails, and generally annoy fellow passengers by taking phone calls — all while riding the subway downtown.
The development, set to happen within a month, was announced Monday by Canadian Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne in Toronto.
Lack of connectivity on Toronto’s transit system has long been a complaint of city residents, many of whom work in the country’s financial core. Rogers Communications Inc. launched a 5G network on parts of the subway system in August, but only its customers, as well as those of Videotron Ltd.’s Freedom Mobile division, had service.
New government conditions now require Rogers to immediately provide access to infrastructure and technical information about its network in the subway to all other carriers, including BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. In turn, those carriers must offer cellular service to their customers by Oct. 3.
The telecom companies have 100 days to reach retroactive commercial agreements for coverage. Within three years of those agreements, coverage must be provided throughout the entire subway system, a government spokesperson said. Carriers that don’t meet the conditions — or prevent others from meeting them — could face monetary penalties, suspension or revocation of their licenses, he said.
Streaming capability may be “suboptimal” for a short period as more people tap the network, but texting and calls should work well, he said.
A recent wave of violence on the subway system has raised concerns about safety and may have finally forced the connectivity issue. The government said it’s taking the steps to ensure passenger safety.
(Corrects spelling of company in fourth paragraph.)
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