The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is planning to vote next week to allow a consortium of companies to build a network inside New York City subways.

The consortium, known as Transit Wireless, is made up telecom and construction companies that include Dianet Communications, Nab Construction, Q-Wireless, and Transit Technologies.

Transit Wireless was formed to respond to the MTA's Request for Proposal to design, market, install, own, operate, and maintain a cellular network for New York City Transit Authority riders within the city's 277 underground subway stations.

If the proposal is approved next week, Transit Wireless will pay New York City Transit approximately $46.8 million over a 10-year period. The consortium said it plans to spend between about $150 million and $200 million to build the network.

Transit Wireless will provide the infrastructure over which wireless carriers will need to offer cellular services. The intention is to have various carriers serve as tenants on the network.

Several carriers have already expressed interest, but Transit Wireless hasn't been able to negotiate and discuss the project with them since the MTA has yet to give its final approval, according to sources familiar with the project who didn't want to be identified.

To accommodate subway riders with cell phones that use both GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) technologies, Transit Wireless will build an infrastructure that's network-agnostic, meaning it's compatible with services offered by different carriers such asAT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless, Sprint (NYSE: S), T-Mobile, and others.

Transit Wireless will have six years to complete construction of the network.