One Cell Carrier Now Offers Underground Service on the 'El'

by KYW's John Ostapkovich

Communication has gotten a little easier for some riders of the Market-Frankford subway-elevated.

"69th Street train, making all stops..."

Although it's still tough to hear anything in a moving subway train, some people can now make a cell phone call while riding the underground portion of SEPTA's Market-Frankford line.

SEPTA's Felipe Suarez explains:

"AT&T recently completed a project to install antennas underground, so AT&T users now can communicate with their cell phones underground if they're using the Market-Frankford line or any of the subway routes."

I called home several times en route to 34th Street, where I met a woman also using her phone:

"It's very convenient. It's nice, and it's also an added safety feature. So from 5th Street all the way up to here is the furthest I've taken it."

Suarez says that putting AT&T antennas in the Broad Street subway is in the works. Negotiations are ongoing with other cellular telephone carriers.

(Photo: KYW's John Ostapkovich)