Funding and Ownership of the Subway Wireless Network

Funding and Ownership of the Subway Wireless Network

Who's footing the bill to bring cell service into New York's subway tunnels? The short answer: not the MTA directly, and not you (at least not yet).

The city's underground network is being built by Boldyn Networks, a private company specializing in wiring hard-to-reach transit systems. Under a deal announced in 2022, Boldyn agreed to finance, install, and operate cell and Wi-Fi infrastructure across the entire subway system.

The project costs roughly $600 million, and Boldyn is covering it up front. The company earns its return by leasing access to major wireless carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, which pay to use the shared system.

That's a public-private partnership. The MTA gets modern connectivity without dipping into its operating budget, while Boldyn gets years of exclusive control over the infrastructure it builds. Riders don't see a separate "wireless fee," but carriers could eventually pass some costs along in broader service pricing.

Ownership is complicated. While Boldyn runs the network day-to-day, the MTA retains ultimate ownership of the subway's physical spaces and rights of way. Once the contract ends (likely sometime in the 2040s), the agreement could be renewed, renegotiated, or transferred back to MTA control.

So for now, it's a trade-off: private funding for private operation. The public doesn't pay up front, but the system runs on long-term leases and carrier coordination. Whether that's smart efficiency or slow privatization depends on how well the partnership holds up.