The Minister of Communications, Dr. Shlomo Karhi: “Cellular communications is a vital infrastructure. I am pleased to announce that cellular reception throughout the tunnels of Road 16 leading towards our eternal capital city of Jerusalem is already here. The cellular companies, led by the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Transport, have completed the stage of installing systems that will provide cellular reception for top-quality and safe journeys. Immediately after the testing stage, we will be confident that the matter has been handled for the benefit of all of the citizens of Israel. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the cellular companies for rising to the task so rapidly. Together with my colleague, the Minister of Transport, Miri Regev, we will continue to act to ensure a pleasant and safe driving experience on Israel’s roads, tunnels and railway.”
Minister of Transport and Road Safety, Brigadier General (Res.) Miri Regev:
“This is not only a problem of inconvenience, which is called as a result of phone calls being disconnected and the need to reconnect, but it is also a safety-related problem that could cause problems in communications at the time of an emergency. In the event of an accident or a car that gets stuck in the heart of the tunnel, it is essential for there to be immediate and reliable cellular communications in real-time, which, at the present time, in many cases, is not available, and I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister of Communications, Shlomo Karhi for the cooperation and the professional work that has been devoted by his Ministry.
Cellular communications is not a luxury, but, rather, it forms an integral part of the day-to-day communications of the lives of each and every one of us. We will not make do with the situation in which phone calls are suddenly cut off in the middle, due to there being no reception in the tunnel. The technological solution to this is simple and available, and from now on, the Ministry of Transport will make sure that as part of setting up every tunnel and any other project in which there is no direct cellular reception, the appropriate infrastructure will be laid down, so as to prevent phone calls from being disconnected.
The Ministry of Communications announces that effective from this morning (Monday), there will be a full cellular infrastructure in the tunnels of Road 16, which is used by tens of thousands of drivers and passengers each day. After an agreement was signed last month between Netivei Israel and representatives of the cellular companies, with the encouragement of the Ministry of Communications, in which the cellular companies undertook to set up and maintain, within three months, cellular communications throughout the entire length of the tunnels of Road 16, the companies made intensive efforts and reached the target earlier than expected, for the benefit of the tens of thousands of private and public vehicles which drive on the road today.
In view of the demand for the establishment of cellular communications on the road, a combined team was set up to examine the matter. The team, led by the Ministry of Communications, held meetings on a regular basis in order to complete the task while meeting the time constraints that had been determined. The cellular networks were operated, for the first time, today, and they are undergoing tests, and in the next few days, they will be officially declared as being in good and proper working order, for the benefit of the public.
Cellular communications infrastructures are vital to maintain a normal way of life and to ensure economic development and Israeli industry. Cellular communications allows a high level of connections and availability for people and devices deployed nationwide, it expands the possibilities for employment and studies, and it constitutes a growth engine for the Israeli economy.