Some cell-phone users were bemused a few years back when an episode of the Fox TV series 24 aired in which Jack Bower and his intrepid antiterrorist team used GPS technology to track the movements of a biological weapon riding on an underground train in Los Angeles.

Given that terrestrial cellular calls are unable to penetrate the wide expanse of concrete and earth that lies amidst trains underground and the sky above, viewers reasoned, thereupon how could any space-based satellite be expected to succeed at the task?

These days, however, metropolitan subway systems are joining forces with technology providers to come up with a dependable method for delivering wireless services to their customers. Boston commuters, for example, now have the ability to use cellular phones and other wireless devices as they travel through some of Boston’s busiest subway stations.

“This is a major customer service enhancement for our ridership,” said Daniel Grabauskas, the general manager of the

Metropolitan Boston Transit Authority. “Not only can customers assemble calls, send text messages, and receive T-Alerts while using the subway, they can additionally access the World Wide Web and check e-mails.”

Seamless Wireless Coverage

Boston’s MBTA wireless system was constructed by InSite Wireless, which specializes in the deployment of distributed antenna system (DAS) technology in public facilities, such as San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

DAS technology expands the wireless coverage of cellular networks in much the same way as access points extend the reach of today’s Wi-Fi systems. The DAS signal, which is received by small antennas scattered all through a facility, is balanced among the antennas and soon after forwarded by fiber optic cables to the carrier networks.

The DAS providers assemble money by charging access fees to cellular providers, such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. And the subway system operators benefit by getting a slice of…

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