A New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority program that will offer mobile-phone service at subway stations will be tested in six locations starting Sept. 27, an agency official said.

Service will be available to AT&T Inc. (T) and T-Mobile USA Inc. users in stations along 14th Street on the A/C/E, 1/2/3, and F/M lines; at Sixth Avenue and Eighth Avenue on the L line; and at the 23rd Street C/E stop, said an MTA official who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the program. The newspaper amNewYork reported on the plan earlier today.

The program, authorized in 2007, will be run by Transit Wireless LLC at no cost to the MTA. Transit Wireless, a closely held company formed specifically for the MTA project, is providing the infrastructure and service, and splitting the revenue 50-50 with the transit agency.

“We want to eventually bring this service to all stations,” Aaron Donovan, an MTA spokesman, said by telephone. He said the agency also hopes to sign on additional wireless carriers.
Of the subway’s 468 stations, 191 are either elevated or at street level. That will leave 271 stations to be wired for service after next week’s debut.

AT&T and T-Mobile signed 10-year agreements with Transit Wireless last year.

(Source: Bloomberg)