The CEO of the company tasked with bringing cellular service to New York City subway tunnels appeared on "Mornings On 1" Thursday to discuss the latest milestone in modernizing the city's transit system.
On Wednesday, the MTA said the Times Square shuttle, which connects Times Square and Grand Central Terminal, is now officially equipped with 5G wireless connectivity.
The work was completed by Boldyn Networks. CEO Christos Karmis said the company is already working on expanding service elsewhere.
"There's 100,000 people that ride that shuttle line, so 36 million a year, so 100,000 every day," Karmis said of the Times Square shuttle. "We have other lines in construction."
"And really, what drives the selection in terms of where we're going to build which tunnel when, it's a function of projects that the MTA has and the capital improvements that they're making," he added. "Because the last thing that we want to do is have to shut down the subway line to install the system."
Karmis said 5G connectivity is "not just about social media and staying connected for work."
"It's also a huge public safety essential network that everyone's using to be able to communicate with the outside world and receive messages, so it's very important from that perspective also," he said.
The G train line, which had fiber optic cable installed as the MTA upgraded it over the summer, will be the next to get cell service.
By mid-2025, riders who commute through the 4 and 5 train tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan and take the Lexington Avenue line between Grand Central and 161st Street will also have service.