The nation’s four largest wireless phone service providers are joining forces to land a lucrative contract to revamp and expand phone, Internet and other communication services across the Metro system, officials said Tuesday.

If the proposal is successful, wireless phone and wireless Internet devices from the four companies — Sprint-Nextel, T-Mobile, Cingular and Verizon — and others would function at station platforms, tunnels and bus stops throughout the region, according to sources close to negotiations between the companies.

The deal, if approved, could bring in tens of millions in new revenue to Metro from ad sales and revenue-sharing deals without any cost to the transit agency.

Only Verizon customers currently have service in underground stations and tunnels because of a 1993 agreement that gave Verizon exclusive rights to the tunnels in exchange for installing an emergency radio system for the transit agency. Other providers could access the network if they paid a portion of the estimated $20 million Verizon spent to install the system, Verizon officials said.

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Verizon will pay Metro an average of $42,000 a year for exclusive rights to provide service in the tunnels through 2009, according to a copy of the contract obtained by The Examiner. Experts said Metro could be raking in at least $15 million annually by adding other providers.

The four companies jointly submitted an “Expression of Interest” to Metro officials earlier this year, the sources said. The submission stems from a symposium held in February to discuss a comprehensive overhaul of Metro’s archaic communications systems. Since the symposium, 16 “teams” have shown interest and Metro already has met with four to discuss plans further, a top Metro official said. Metro Project Manager Jonathan Wyner said he could not disclose names of the companies.

Metro would like to have wireless “hot spots” at 20,000 locations across the 106-mile rail system and at bus shelters across the region, new video monitors on trains and buses, and better electronic platform signs. These systems would be linked to a $20 million replacement of Metro’s decades-old phone system.

Verizon Wireless spokesman John Johnson said he could not confirm or deny any agreement on Tuesday, but did say Verizon remains interested in “providing our current service and broadening the range of services we can provide.”

mrupert@dcexaminer.com