You can now get phone service in one part of DC’s metro system

On any given day, Metro might be on fire or undergoing some crazy SafeTrack shutdown, but on the bright side, apparently we’re making actual strides toward connectivity in the underground.
The nation’s four big wireless carriers, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, officially launched underground wireless service in one section of the D.C. metro on Nov. 30. That means you can now use your phone in the approximately 1.1 miles of tunnel between Potomac Avenue and the Stadium Armory (that’s the orange, blue and silver lines).
According to a statement, “Future announcements will be issued once other significant tunnel segments are brought into commercial wireless service as is expected in 2017.”
“Riders have told us they want the ability to maintain wireless communication at all times while riding Metro, and this project is responsive to their needs,” WMATA General Manager Paul J. Wiedefeld said in a statement. “I am pleased to see the tunnel wiring project move forward under the plan I announced earlier this year.”
It remains to be seen, though, what effect (if any!) in-tunnel phone service will have on commuter’s impressions of the beleaguered WMATA system.