The Chicago Transit Authority will begin a project in November to improve wireless communication on the Red Line and Blue Line subways.

CTA officials voted in a board meeting Thursday to sign a contract with Aldridge Electric, Inc. The company, with headquarters in Libertyville, will help renovate the infrastructure in a 12-month project beginning in November, said CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski.

With the upgrades, the system will be able to provide 4G service, a clear improvement over the 2G service, Hosinski said. The 4G technology will allow customers to use applications on their phone and voice and text messaging services. Only the Red and Blue lines have subway tunnels, and the 4G access would be made available across all tunnels on each line, Hosinski said.

“It’s an improvement being made to our rail system to make it more reliable, convenient and attractive for customers to use,” Hosinski said.

Hosinski added that the new system will make emergency response calls by CTA subway personnel more dependable.

“It’s a two-fold benefit here,” she said.

Although the whole project will not be finished, the Blue Line could have 4G service by next spring, Hosinski said.

Until the project’s completion, the existing wireless network will remain in place.

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