Free WiFi planned for Guangzhou metro

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou may soon become the third city on the Chinese mainland to offer free WiFi services to subway riders.

Southern Galaxy Valley, a WiFi solutions provider based in the nearby city of Shenzhen, has co-founded a joint venture with Guangzhou Metro to operate the city's subway WiFi services, according to Southern Metropolis Daily, citing Zhou Fazhan, chairman of Southern Galaxy Valley.

Zhou says that construction is set to begin after the upcoming Chinese New Year in February. The plan is to launch free WiFi services for selected subway lines in July, 2015, and cover all subway lines in 2016.

Southern Galaxy Valley operates about 70 percent of all subway WiFi services on the mainland. The services are available only in a few cities including Shenzhen and Shanghai.

A big challenge in introducing wireless coverage to the subway is that a WiFi signal shares the same 2.4 GHz band with the Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signaling system. Many metro systems use the CBTC system to manage traffic and ensure safety.

This band-sharing problem reportedly caused one subway line in Shenzhen to suspend service for a while in November, 2012.

For the new services in Guangzhou, Southern Galaxy Valley has managed to work out a solution that will prevent WiFi signals from disturbing the CBTC system.

The entire project is expected to cost 200 million yuan (US$32.3 million).

Guangzhou has one of China's busiest metro networks. It saw about 6.22 million daily rides this year, according to Southern Metropolis Daily.