New York to get citywide high-speed Wi-Fi

The City of New York is proposing to replace its obsolescent system of public pay phones with a network of high-speed, multi-purpose Wi-Fi kiosks called Links throughout the Five Boroughs.The proposal aims to fund the entire system through advertising which will forego taxpayer subsidy and will “... generate more than $500 million in revenue for the City over the next 12 years.”

According to the Links website, the system will deliver:

•      Always-on free Internet with “up to gigabit speeds”
•      Free national phone calls
•      A touchscreen to access public offices and provide directions
•      Direct access to emergency and city services
•      A charging station for mobile devices

Of course, it will also be a location for digital advertising and public service announcements.

Links claims that the completed service will be 100 times faster than average public Wi-Fi, and 20 times faster than the usual New York City home Internet.

The project is being implemented by a consortium called CityBridge which consists of Titan, Qualcomm, Comark and other companies.

Construction will begin in 2015 and will eventually install as many as 10,000 Links throughout the city.

Gigabit Wi-Fi. And that’s just the beginning. (LinkNYC website)

City Announces Payphone Wi-Fi Deal (Gotham Gazette, Nov. 17, 2014)