let me offer a few reasons why its a good idea:
1) during emergencies - either for civilians to call 911, or public officials to communicate w/ outside world (yes they have radios, but cell phones are a good backup)
2) economic development - it makes the city a more modern, business friendly place.
3) reducing traffic congestion - we dont know how many people drive because they can't use their phones in the public transit system. if its takes cell phone connectivity to get them out of their cars, is a win for New Yorkers
i'm certain that equilibrium can be reached. after spending the summer in Seoul where cell phone service is available 100% in the subways, people are strongly discouraged by signs and each other from talking loudly. more or less it seems to work - though of course there are instances where it doesnt. people usually get up and move away from the loud talker if it bothers them.
the value of the connectivity is clear - nearly every call is along the lines of "i'll be there in 5 minutes" or "i'll be 5 minutes late"
On Feb 13, 2005, at 10:29 AM, Emre Celebi wrote:
I agree, installing today's cellular system in subways is a bad idea. Think about amount of radiaton you'll expose people in. All cars have metallic case, it won't work well unless you install a device within each, or unless you fry people into mutants. Would you want a cellular base station installed in your room? Little exaggerated, but not far from reality.
Unless very low power, higher capacity wireless communication
technologies are used, I'm against it. As a start, wifi can be used for
internet access, delay tolerant messaging, and everyone will benefit p2p
technologies.
I believe, majority of people would prefer private messaging in public places, if they have the option. Finally, nobody would tolerate the Lombard effect.
Best, Emre
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