Chinese firm to pay for London Underground mobile network.

[Victor McDade]

Very kind of them, or should we be worried?

[Arnold The Bat]

Huawei are a huge company with equipment everywhere including your local BT exchange so if they wanted to do something to compromise out national security then I'd guess they already could. Some how I doubt it though, they are just like any other company and just want to make money.

Interesting to read in that article that only the Hong Kong and Paris metros have mobile coverage. Back in 2001 I spent some time doing walk trials and propogation tests of the Newcastle upon Tyne metro for just this reason.

[Victor McDade]

Arnold The Bat said:

Huawei are a huge company with equipment everywhere including your local BT exchange so if they wanted to do something to compromise out national security then I'd guess they already could. Some how I doubt it though, they are just like any other company and just want to make money.

Interesting to read in that article that only the Hong Kong and Paris metros have mobile coverage. Back in 2001 I spent some time doing walk trials and propogation tests of the Newcastle upon Tyne metro for just this reason.

Thanks for the information. So much ado about nothing then on the 'spying' front.

Although Patrick Mercer, the Tory MP and former Army officer thinks it could mean terrorists would no longer need suicide bombers as they could simply detonate devices through a mobile signal. Then again that is true for any location (cinema, shopping centres etc).

[Arnold The Bat]

Well if Mr Mercer thinks it's such a threat then as you say we should rip up our entire mobile network just to make sure we're safe regardless of the fact that terrorists have been remotely detonating stuff long before mobile phones came about.

Here's what Huawei UK have to say for themselves. http://www.huawei.com/uk/catalog.do?id=302

Apparently they are a very good company to work for and personally I wouldn't hesitate to work for them.

[MrV]

Victor McDade said:

Very kind of them, or should we be worried?

I thought Boris had said "Thanks but no thanks" to this a couple of weeks ago.

[Blib]

Oh great. People screaming inanities into their phones on the tube.

Woop.

[pokethepope]

Blib said:

Oh great. People screaming inanities into their phones on the tube.

Woop.

Thats the thing. In HK, I barely noticed anyone was on their phone. In London, we will get a bunch of teenagers talking like Vicky Pollard.

[chr15b]

Very good hardware and keenly priced when compared to cisco

[chr15b]

Very good hardware and keenly priced when compared to cisco

[Blib]

pokethepope said:

Blib said:

Oh great. People screaming inanities into their phones on the tube.

Woop.

Thats the thing. In HK, I barely noticed anyone was on their phone. In London, we will get a bunch of teenagers talking like Vicky Pollard.

I've not travelled on the Hong Kong metro. But, as you know, the tube is pretty noisy so anyone trying to use their phone will be obliged to shout into it to drown out the background noise of wheels on the track.

[sharpfocus]

Arnold The Bat said:

Huawei are a huge company with equipment everywhere including your local BT exchange so if they wanted to do something to compromise out national security then I'd guess they already could. Some how I doubt it though, they are just like any other company and just want to make money.

I don't doubt it.

But it works all ways and so long as we know what they're up to I don't think we care!

[sinizter]

Dear God ... Another way to make the tube network even worse than it is now. Atleast I did not have to listen to morons discussing their personal life loudly enough to make the use of a telephone unnecessary.

[munroman]

Blib said:

pokethepope said:

Blib said:

Oh great. People screaming inanities into their phones on the tube.

Woop.

Thats the thing. In HK, I barely noticed anyone was on their phone. In London, we will get a bunch of teenagers talking like Vicky Pollard.

I've not travelled on the Hong Kong metro. But, as you know, the tube is pretty noisy so anyone trying to use their phone will be obliged to shout into it to drown out the background noise of wheels on the track.

I think on the Hong Kong MTR although just about everyone is on the phone, because TBH I didn't understand a word they were saying, it just became background noise, especially as Cantonese is a very 'musical' language.

When you hear bits of a conversation you understand it seems more annoying to me, Innit......

[Gun]

Could you even hear a mobile on a tube train, it's hard enough to have a conversation with someone sitting next to you because of the noise.

[Jimbeaux]

Victor McDade said:

Very kind of them, or should we be worried?

Few nations, especially China does anything out of the goodness of their heart.

[Bing o]

Jimbeaux said:

Few nations, especially China does anything out of the goodness of their heart.

And especially the US.

[thehawk]

Voice would be rubbish, but 3G data would be very useful.

[XJSJohn]

Arnold The Bat said:

Interesting to read in that article that only the Hong Kong and Paris metros have mobile coverage.

OK is only about 40% that is underground but the Singapore MRT has full underground mobile coverage on trains and in stations.

yes it is bloody horrible when everyone is shouting down the phone / all teh stupid inane ringtones going off etc.

One of many reasons i drive.

[Jimbeaux]

Bing o said:

Jimbeaux said:

Few nations, especially China does anything out of the goodness of their heart.

And especially the US.

True, as all nations do. However, do you think the Chinese are less so?

[thehawk]

XJSJohn said:

OK is only about 40% that is underground but the Singapore MRT has full underground mobile coverage on trains and in stations.

yes it is bloody horrible when everyone is shouting down the phone / all teh stupid inane ringtones going off etc.

One of many reasons i drive.

The frottage opportunities in Singapore are worth taking the train for, despite the mobile phone use - and even then they are mostly just playing Farmville or Cafeworld.