Cellphone Service Arrives at 6 NYC Subway Stations

A long-delayed project to wire New York City subway stations for cellphone service is becoming a reality.     

Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials are announcing that six stations will get cellphone service starting Tuesday.     

The stations, in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, will be the first to be wired for cellphones.     

Contractor Transit Wireless has five years to set up service at the other 271 stations.

The signals will cover platforms and mezzanines but will extend only a short distance into tunnels.     

Only AT&T and T-Mobile subscribers will initially be able to use the service. Other cellphone carriers are expected to participate soon.     

Cellphone service has been available in underground stations and tunnels in San Francisco's Bay Area Rapid Transit system since 2006 and in Boston's subway system since 2007.