: News

Metro Expands Underground Wireless Network

Play associated audio
Dupont Circle is among 20 underground Metro stations with expanded wireless service.
Rebecca Sheir
Dupont Circle is among 20 underground Metro stations with expanded wireless service.

Savvy cell-phone users know you can use Verizon in underground Metro stations.Ditto with Sprint phones roaming onto the Verizon network. But try using AT&T or T-Mobile and no such luck.

Until now.

Metro has united with the four carriers to build a new wireless network, slated to debut tomorrow in 20 of Metro's busiest stations, including Dupont Circle, Judiciary Square and Pentagon City.

It's part of Metro's three-year deal with Congress, to secure $1.5 billion in federal funding. The agreement requires Metro to wire all underground stations by October 2010.

But eventually, the "Step back, doors closing" chimes won't be the only ringing tones you'll hear inside actual trains. Metro says it plans to expand wireless service to the entire Metrorail system -- tunnels included -- by 2012.

Rebecca Sheir reports...

NPR

Where's Jimmy Hoffa? Everywhere And Nowhere

FBI agents believe they have a credible lead on the whereabouts of Jimmy Hoffa's body. If they're right, it will solve a longstanding mystery, which will also deflate Hoffa's resonance in popular culture.
NPR

The Mystery Of the Ridiculously Pricey Bag Of Potatoes

Did a 10-pound bag of potatoes really cost $15 back in 2008? We get to the bottom of some puzzling numbers in the lawsuit alleging America's potato growers have become a spud cartel.
NPR

Boehner Seeks To Reassure House GOP On Immigration

House Speaker John Boehner strongly suggested he would abide by the Hastert Rule on immigration legislation, meaning no floor vote unless a majority of House Republicans backed the bill.
NPR

Teens Find The Right Tools For Their Social-Media Jobs

There was a time — a time long, long ago — when MySpace dominated the teen social-media world. Not anymore. NPR's Sami Yenigun looks at how teenagers use various social platforms in today's increasingly segmented online universe.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.