RSS FeediPhone Fever Hits Gallery Place Metro Station
Just this morning, WMATA officially flipped the switch allowing all major cell phone carriers (not just Verizon) to offer service within select subterranean Metro stations.
We took our iPhone (serviced by AT&T Wireless) out and descended into the Gallery Place metro station from the 7th & H St entrance. We had a full 5 bars going down the first escalator. The number of bars slipped to 3 as we turned the corner to go down the 2nd escalator, but the iPhone quickly went back up to a full 5 bars by the time we reached the fare gates. Full signal was experienced even on the bottom level of the station where the green & yellow lines operate.
Testing the cell signal limits, we took a train to Columbia Heights. The signal quickly dropped off as we entered the tunnel and we didn’t regain signal until disembarking the train at Columbia Heights. Other Penn Quarter area stations that now feature cell service for all carriers are Judiciary Square, Federal Triangle and L’Enfant Plaza.
We’ll be interested to see how many people will be using their cell phones at the Metro platforms now – especially if you can carry an uninterrupted cell phone conversation from street level all the way down to the platform! Maybe we’ll have to coin a new term for people who hold up the fare gate line because they are holding a cell phone and can’t reach for their SmarTrip card fast enough. Any suggestions?
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Comments
I was able for a long time to bump my butt (my wallet is kept in my back-right pocket) against the reader on the handicap gate, and it worked like a champ (no hands required). I have since removed my card for Metro personnel inspection at some point, and post-wallet-reinsertion, it has not worked. I’m sure it’s a “this side up” issue, but I haven’t had the time (read: patience) to do the flipping exercise to figure out which way it needs to be in order for it to work. But it was convenient…
Randy – That sounds great but probably will be difficult once you grow above 5 feet tall. Thanks for the idea though.
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I think the better question is: when is someone going to create an App that allows your iPhone to double as a Smartcard?