Thomas Breen photo
Lamont dials up Wednesday’s Union Station presser.
Gov. Ned Lamont committed to upgrading cellphone internet access on the Metro North commuter rail line within a year — even if his latest transportation infrastructure bill doesn’t pass the state legislature, and even if his wealthy tower-weary Greenwich neighbors oppose the plan.
Lamont made that transportation internet connectivity promise during a brief press conference at Union Station Wednesday morning. He did so while standing alongside state Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Joe Giulietti and AT&T Connecticut President John Emra.
Inside Union Station’s main hall.
The 10-minute presser was the governor’s latest stop on a two-week tour promoting his administration’s recently unveiled $21 billion, CT2030 transportation infrastructure plan.
Wednesday’s version of Lamont’s pitch didn’t focus on highway tolls or train speed. It focused on internet speed. He said the state DOT is working with telecommunications giants AT&T, T‑Mobile, and Verizon to improve cell internet access all along the Connecticut stretch of the Metro North rail line, from New Haven to Stamford.
That will mean “clearing out the regulatory underbrush,” to make sure those companies have access to existing poles and to the public right of way so that they can install new transponders and nodes, he said. Those service upgrades will eliminate cell-connection “blackouts” that currently exist, particularly in Fairfield County, and will provide 4G cell access within a year along the entire Connecticut section of the New Haven line.
Lamont, state DOT Commissioner Joe Giulietti, and AT&T Connecticut President John Emra.
Transportation infrastructure improvements are not just about new rail cars and repaired train tracks, he said. “It also involves telecommuting. It also involves bringing our IT infrastructure into the 21st century.”
The proposed updates do not include train- or station-specific wi-fi connections, but rather increased cell data capacity.
Giuletti added that the CT2030 plan includes the state acquiring 132 new railcars and 30 new locomotives for the Metro North line. Those will be a mix of electric, diesel, and dual-powered locomotives, he said. He also said that the new rail cars will feature two-by-two seating, work tables, different lighting modes for quiet cars and evening travel, and charging for mobile devices, in addition to the enhanced 4G and, eventually, 5G connectivity.
Will the internet service upgrades go forward even if the state legislature doesn’t pass the CT2030 plan? one reporter asked.
“I think it will,” Lamont replied. “We can do the 5G and 4G service on our old cars as well.”
TV news cameras lined up before the governor.
And what about wealthy Greenwich residents who don’t want to see new cell-towers along the Metro North line? another reporter asked. They’re the ones responsible for the “blackouts” today. What will Lamont, a Greenwich millionaire who built his fortune on his own telecommunications company, do to convince those neighbors of the value of this plan?
“These are not big cell-towers in your backyard,” Lamont replied. “These are going to be transponders all along the Metro North” line so that all commuters have equal access to high-quality cell service while riding the train.
“I guarantee you my neighbors don’t want to waste time on a train car,” he continued. “They want to be productive the entire time, there and back.”
Click on the Facebook Live video below to watch Wednesday morning’s full press conference.
How about just "better internet" in the state as a whole? What happened to the CTgig project? Lofty promises of high speed internet for $20 a month to be up and running in what they promised was three years. That was FIVE years ago. Now bupkus! I don't think the website has been updated in four years.