The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan the Municipal Transportation Agency and BART worked out a month ago to bring cell phone service to the Muni Metro subways by tagging onto the BART network.
BART has an underground cellular network, the first in the nation shared by competing carriers, is used in its subterranean stretches. It’s used by AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile and Metro PCS.
Plans calls for Muni Metro to tie into the BART system about 12 to 18 months after a deal can be negotiated with the carriers.
The board’s approval allows the negotiations to begin. But Metro riders shouldn’t get too excited. While the arrangement will bring mobile phone service to Muni’s nether regions, it will remain a Wi-Fi-free zone.
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