COMMUTERS in Glasgow will be the first in the UK to be able to use their mobile phones in underground stations.

The new deal will allow Subway passengers to call and text while waiting on the platform from early December.

However, the move in five of the busiest stations in the city will initially be limited to O2 customers.

If successful it could be rolled out at London Underground stations in the future.

O2 said it is the first mobile phone operator in the UK to employ the "multi-user distributed antenna system" which enables mobile phones to work underground.

Chief technology officer Derek McManus said: "This new technology will enable customers to make calls, send and receive text messages and access a host of data services while on the subway platform.

"This is the first time that any mobile phone network in the UK has implemented a service like this and O2 is delighted to be giving its customers the first chance to communicate on the underground."

The service will operate at Buchanan Street, St Enoch, Kelvinbridge, Hillhead and Partick stations from December and could be potentially lucrative for the mobile phone network.

Gordon Maclennan, assistant chief executive of Subway operator Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, said: "This has been sometime in the planning but I'm delighted that we can offer this service to our passengers in time for Christmas.

"It's a first for Glasgow and it opens the door for wider WiFi coverage in the underground in future."

Andy Norris, of transmission provider Arqiva, said: "Wireless access is increasingly expected in public areas and this is an important development for the citizens of Glasgow."