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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 South Link Line tunnels now have mobile service
A stretch of the South Link Line in Taitung County, captured by 78-year-old photographer Lai Chien-yi before the section was electrified. Photo courtesy of Lai Chien-yi
ALL SYSTEMS GO: Mobile service starts today in some of the tunnels, while a telecom firm is working on drones to provide mobile coverage during disasters
By Shelley Shan / Staff reporter, in Taitung County
Passengers traveling on the South Link Line （南迴鐵路） can look forward to uninterrupted mobile phone service while passing through some of its tunnels after two base stations along the route are activated today, the National Communications Commission （NCC） said yesterday.
Two signal stations at Puan （菩安） and Gujhuang （古莊）, about 8km apart, would serve about 550,000 passengers on the railway line annually, the commission said, adding that travelers could experience preliminary results of improved mobile phone reception along the South Link.
About 40km of the South Link Line is inside 35 tunnels along the 98.2km route, and prior to the activation of the base stations, mobile service was unavailable for about one-and-a-half hours of the travel time, it said.
The NCC started coordinating with the Taiwan Railways Administration （TRA）, telecoms and other agencies to improve reception and expand coverage along the line, it said.
The telecoms had to work at night after service ended and coordinate with the railway agency on improvements made inside the tunnels, which are mostly located in the forests and canyons, making it more of a challenge, it added.
All five major telecoms also agreed to jointly provide about NT$60 million （US$1.99 million） to fund the mobile signal improvement project, which was completed within 50 days after the railway agency mobilized 750 workers for the project, the NCC said.
Of the total funds spent on the project, NT$19 million came from the budget allocated for the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Development Program, telecoms said.
Asked why they chose to improve the reception between Puan and Gujhuang first, representatives from the telecoms said that they were following TRA’s progress on the electrification of the South Link Line, the only railway in the nation that has not yet been completely electrified.
“We recognize the efforts made by telecoms and government agencies to jointly improve the mobile phone signal receptions along the South Link Line and thank all the unsung heroes at the front line for their hard work,” the commission said. “We are aiming to improve reception along the entire route by the end of next year.”
In other news, Chunghwa Telecom said that it is working with Thunder Tiger to test if they can use small cell base stations mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles （UAVs） to improve reception and coverage in disaster-struck areas.
Should the tests prove successful, Chunghwa said it would to four UAVs on standby in the north, south, east and west regions for potential disasters, when the base stations are most likely to be damaged.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
