Beijing Subway plans to clear all blind spots for mobile telecommunication ahead of the Olympics in August.

Beijing Subway currently operate eight lines. The oldest two, lines one and two, have many blind spots for mobile phones and WiFi connections, the Beijing Daily reported on Thursday. Passengers on those lines often suffered from frequent dropped calls or poor signal reception.

In the past seven months, Beijing Subway equipped lines one and two, which were built three decades ago, with 43 telecom control centers as well as 1,507 transmitters in stations and subway tunnels, the newspaper said.

The subway authorities did not release capital outlay on the telecom facilities. The completion of the project was expected by the end of June.

The telecom facilities under construction in the two subway lines will enable not only mobile phone use but also wireless Internet connection, the newspaper said.

The technological upgrades included the smart entry program for all Beijing subway stations. Commuters are expected to use, no later than May, smart cards for their entries and exits from subway platforms.

The upgrades are part of Beijing Subway's ongoing renovations since 2005. The plan costs 4.3 billion yuan (US$614 million).

Beijing had 142 kilometers of subway in 2007, but planned to expand it to 561.5kilometers, with 19 lines by 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency May 2, 2008)