I was assigned as a project manager to help design and implement the system. Nextel is indeed paying for the installation, starting in the downtown SF stations and then moving on to the underground system in Oakland. Basically, a radiax antenna cable is being strung through the tunnel areas, which has capacity to service multiple carriers and frequencies. As stated elsewhere, the goal is to have end-to-end coverage along the entire BART system. The other carriers will piggyback on Nextel's installation if they so choose. (As of a year ago, when I left the project, only Cingular had joined in.) Nextel gets some breaks from BART for being first-mover.
One of the perks of this job was spending lots of time in the BART tunnels between 2 and 4 am. It's a wonderful experience for anyone who gets the opportunity.
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I was assigned as a project manager to help design and implement the system. Nextel is indeed paying for the installation, starting in the downtown SF stations and then moving on to the underground system in Oakland. Basically, a radiax antenna cable is being strung through the tunnel areas, which has capacity to service multiple carriers and frequencies. As stated elsewhere, the goal is to have end-to-end coverage along the entire BART system. The other carriers will piggyback on Nextel's installation if they so choose. (As of a year ago, when I left the project, only Cingular had joined in.) Nextel gets some breaks from BART for being first-mover. One of the perks of this job was spending lots of time in the BART tunnels between 2 and 4 am. It's a wonderful experience for anyone who gets the opportunity.
Speaking of expensive phones, how's Vertu (www.vertu.com) doing with its gold-plated cellphones?