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Cell Phone, Wi-Fi Service Expanding To 40 Additional Underground Subway Stations

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expanding cell phone and Wi-Fi service in the subway system.

Straphangers will soon be able to use their smartphones and other devices in 40 more underground stations -- 11 in Manhattan and 29 in Queens. That will include major hubs such as the Jackson Heights/Roosevelt Avenue Station, Jamaica Center Station, Court Square Station, 42 Street Bryant Park Station, 34 Street Herald Square Station and Grand Central 42 Street Station.

WEB EXTRA: Full List Of Wireless-Enabled Subway Stations (pdf)

"Adding and improving wireless service at more subway stations provides a much-anticipated boost to riders' experience in one of the world's busiest and oldest subway systems, while offering an added level of security," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. "A more stable network below ground ensures that riders and first responders can seamlessly communicate in events of emergency, which is essential in a system that carries millions of passengers every day."

Cell Phone, Wi-Fi Service Expanding To 40 Additional Underground Subway Stations

"Bringing wireless service into our subway system is the latest milestone in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's effort to use technology to improve the service we provide for our customers," said MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast. "Whether you're checking your email, calling your kids or looking for emergency assistance, wireless service will bring the conveniences we're used to above ground into the subway system."

Experts told CBS 2's Sonia Rincon that beyond making phone calls riders will benefit from being able to use data below ground.

"It's great that you can make phone calls, but when you're in a noisy environment like a subway station really folks are concentrating on using date, and data is exploding," Jim Hormann, AT&T, explained.

Riders were pleasantly surprised to see some signal strength on their screens.

"It's on right now. I'm on LTE, T-Mobile. It's working very well," Ed Collis said.

Of course, with more phones out on the subway and more users engrossed in their Facebook feeds, the devices may become easier to snatch. The MTA argued that more service does not mean less safety.

"Having more connectivity underground, more ability to reach out in case of an emergency, more ability to call if you see something and want to say something," MTA Spokesman, Adam Lisberg said.

Transit wireless says it's keeping the hotspots secure, but security experts said that hackers are always trying to get into public Wi-Fi hotspots, so you might not want to send sensitive information on the subway.

"Generally speaking you should treat public Wi-Fi networks with a little bit of suspicion. You want to be careful not to do things like maybe online banking or use your credit cards. Not because the providers haven't taken proper security measures, in many cases they have, but you should just have an extra layer of concern," Arik Hesseldahl, Recode.net, explained.

The service isn't in the tunnels just yet, but service was bleeding into tunnels near the M-train in Queens, where wi-fi is available in a lot of stations.

The MTA has said all 277 underground stations will have wireless service by 2017.

Work has already begun to bring wireless and Wi-Fi service to another 39 stations by spring 2015. The next phase of the project will include the Flushing Main Street Station in Queens, as well as stations in Lower Manhattan, West Harlem and Washington Heights.

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