Photo by Nivad

Frustrating but entirely predictable update on Metro’s federally mandated cell phone service expansion plan from the Examiner’s Kytya Weir today. You’ll recall that as part of a $1.5 billion funding package passed by Congress last fall, Metro is required to expand cell phone service coverage to all major companies, including Verizon, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile, to the 20 busiest underground rail stations by October. But of course as Weir writes, it turns out the entire project will “remain a patchwork of service for up to three more years.” You will be able to use your phone inside those 20 stations by the end of the year, but not in the subway tunnels adjacent to those stations for a long time later. Metro isn’t required to have service up and running in all 47 of their stations until October 2010, and the entire system, including tunnels, until October 2012. So in other words, you’ll soon be able to make calls regardless of your service provider while you’re standing on many station platforms, but at least for the next couple of years, don’t necessarily plan on continuing those calls once you board a train.