Cell phones blacked out in NY tunnels

[n4tec]

Cellular phone service has been shut off in four busy New York commuter tunnels since last week's deadly blasts in London, officials said on Monday.

No specific reason was given for the move, but cell phones have been used to trigger bombs in the past.

Cell phone service is disabled in the Holland and Lincoln tunnels that connect Manhattan to New Jersey under the Hudson River, the Midtown Tunnel to the city's Queens borough and the Battery Tunnel to Brooklyn, officials said.

The move came immediately after the bombings in London on Thursday, said a representative of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the operation of the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.

New York has remained on high alert for another attack following the September 11, 2001, hijacked plane attacks, which destroyed the World Trade Center's twin towers.

In March 2004, bombs in Madrid that killed 191 people on trains were fitted to mobile phones, using the alarms as timers. Police in London have said they believe the subway bombs there were detonated by timers.

"Following the bombings in London, as a security precaution, the Port Authority required that cell phone service be suspended inside the Lincoln and Holland tunnels," said Tony Ciavolella, a Port Authority spokesman. "This was an initiative we put into place for the safety and security of the public."

The service will be disabled until further notice, Ciavolella said.

A representative of the New York Police Department said officials would weigh the benefits of disabled service against allowing cell phone service in the tunnels so the public could report suspicious packages or individuals.

Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson said the Port Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had advised the carrier that they had discontinued cell phone service in the tunnels. Verizon Wireless is a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone, the country's second-biggest mobile service.

Nelson said Verizon Wireless hoped service in the tunnels would be restored as quickly as possible and said he was not aware of any other U.S. cities taking similar actions.

"There's lots of different ways to use the cell phone as a trigger device," said Ken Dulaney, a wireless analyst at technology market research firm Gartner.

But he added: "If you stop a cell phone, there are myriad other ways to trigger bombs."

Source: NEWS

the after effects are being felt every where.. Cell phones are that dangerous...

 

[funindia]

After London Blasts, these things are come into effect. Goverments do not want to take any kind of chance.
Do you not belive these acts definately reduce common people's morals?

 

[MicrotechXP]

lol lucky Auvee...Nobody is taking any chances after those atackes...in LA there is a cop everywhere now... I think it is also a good idea becasue it could help prevent accsidents... and use it as triggers...man I never knew that...people these days!!!

 

[chaganlal1]

Wow thats some crazy things happening in New York these days, No cell phone service in tunnels, what if somethign goes wrong lol

 

[Conor]

This is ridiculous. The USA seems paranoid about any little thing that may cause bombings and/or terrorist attacks.

 

[DotCom]

This is ridiculous. The USA seems paranoid about any little thing that may cause bombings and/or terrorist attacks.

Well Gee! I wonder why! lol

People in NYC still hear a plane and look like they need to poop ........

 

[n4tec]

OFFTOPIC:
yesterday i watched the most silly preparation in the whole world.. the police where i come from were training in case there is something similar to london in my country.. they went through all the drills you can think of..

But when there is a fire it takes them 3 hours or even they sometimes wait for the fire to finish off property and then put off the fire even sometimes the police fire brigade arrives at the fire without water..

 

[limelight]

Lol, well I can't use my cell phone anywhere. Stupid Fido.

It's pretty sad, I wonder if the US will ever go back to the first alert level (the green one I think). Instead of always being elevated.

 

[DotCom]

I suppose the reason in New York City why you can not get a cop anymore is because they are now in the subways!!! arggggggggg

 

[Nathan]

I live in Kentucky, no subways (except the resturants) and my cell phone has good reception. 5 bars, aka, max.