Cricket to provide wireless infrastructure to Chicago

Cricket Communications Inc. signed a 10-year agreement to lease the Chicago Transit Authority's (CTA) wireless communications infrastructure in the subways.

CTA will receive $22,250 per month from Cricket for the lease.

The wireless provider recently completed the installation and testing of its base equipment — comprised of amplifiers, transmitters and receivers — to the CTA wireless infrastructure. Customers who use Cricket wireless services are now able to communicate throughout the CTA's red and blue line subways.

Cricket joins Verizon Wireless and U.S. Cellular as the current wireless service providers in the agency's subway system. U.S. Cellular became the first wireless provider to lease use of the infrastructure in July 2006, while Verizon Wireless signed on in August 2008.

CTA continues to work toward adding service providers to the system.