Verizon makes a foursome for NYC subway DAS

With a finalized agreement from Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), Transit Wireless has now signed all four Tier 1 U.S. mobile operators to its New York City subway distributed antenna system (DAS).

Transit Wireless NYC subway

Click here for Transit Wireless' video.

Verizon will begin to install its equipment in Transit's base station facilities over the next several weeks, with an eye toward enabling Verizon customers to start receiving service later this year in the 36 stations already online in mid-town Manhattan and Chelsea.

Transit was formed specifically to respond to the Metropolitan Transit Authority's requirement to provide a shared wireless infrastructure to enable commercial wireless services for the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) riders within 277 underground subway stations. In addition to delivering wireless services to subways travelers, Transit envisions the DAS enabling localized business promotion and providing a backbone for digital advertising to New York's more than 1.6 billion annual subway riders.

The company's subway DAS buildout will be completed in seven phases, which are slated for ultimate completion by April 2017. Phase two of Transit's DAS project, which will comprise 40 new stations including Grand Central Station, is slated for completion in early 2014.

In April, Transit announced that its neutral-host DAS had already signed as anchor tenants AT&T (NYSE:T) and T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS). Sprint (NYSE:S) signed on last month. Boingo Wireless is also using Transit's DAS to expand its sponsored Wi-Fi hotspot offering within the New York City subway system.

For more:
- see this Transit Wireless release

Related articles:
Sprint hops aboard NYC subway DAS project
All four national mobile carriers to use NYC subway DAS