Planning on taking a subway ride, better make that call quick. Once inside the New York City subway system, cell phone service is sporadic at best. Right now the only subway system in the country that's wired for wireless service is Washington DC's metro. In a deal with Verizon, the tunnels in the nation's capitol now have special receiver wires laid inside so people can talk and ride. New York may be in the plans, but the project would be monumental.
Time is a major factor.
Verizon just got through wiring 15 miles of Amtrak tunnels. That project took 14 months to complete. At that rate wiring more than 130 miles of New York's subways would take more than 10 years. Time and money are just two factors. Noisy talkers are already a pain in the ear.