Sydney Trains No Longer A "No Reception" Area
People who are always experiencing a "no reception" problem when riding the Sydney train could now rejoice as network companies are now providing full high-speed 3G mobile broadband reception. The first areas that would experience this improvement are some of the underground rail tunnels heading into Sydney's central business district.
Some users are saying "It's about time" as this project took 10 years of planning before pushing through. Gladys Berejiklian, the NSW Transport Minister, blamed the previous Labor administration for the delay saying that "It is ridiculous it has taken this long." Despite that delay, this plan is already pushing through which is a big deal for commuters. The Transport Minister also remarked that "We have listened to the feedback and this is another win for customers who have for so many years been frustrated with the lack of coverage in tunnels."
A spokesperson from Telstra remarked that this project was a "multi-carrier project" which means that various telecommunications company would also put in their own infrastructure. Optus and Telstra are slated to get coverage between Central and Chatswood stations later this week while Vodafone customers would get reception in tunnels at a later period. Plans fo future cabling the city circle and eastern suburbs are also on the works.
Telstra also warned their users that there could be delays during the early days of this project. The company added that "We expect this system to start working today. If any customers are experiencing teething problems we hope they'll contact us to let us know." Telstra also plans to install a fast 3G Dual Channel HSPA+ broadband with 4G LTE upgrades sometime in the future.
This service would not cost any additional fee for customers on top of their standard access fees.