New York will have to wait until 2016 for Wi-Fi in all underground subway stations — putting it years behind other American cities like San Francisco, Boston and Chicago as well as international cities like Singapore and Hong Kong.

"If you look around the world at other mega-cities, New York is probably the farthest behind in terms of the technology infrastructure in the subways," said Anthony Townsend, a visiting scholar at NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management.

UPDATE: On April 25, 2013, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced 30 additional subway stations with Wi-Fi.  Wireless and data services below ground will allow subway riders to use their phones, send and receive texts and e-mails.  There are now 36 stations with online and cell services.  AT&T, T-Mobile and Transit Wireless are paying for the project, which the governor's offices estimates will cost up to $200 million.

Wi-Fi services are through Transit Wireless which has an agreement with Boingo Wireless to manage and operate the system.  For now, Wi-Fi is free thanks to sponsorship with HTC One. To access, chose SSID:  FreWifibyHTCONE.

(The story originally appeared on September 19, 2012.)