NYC replaces payphones with city-wide free Wi-Fi, calls
Credit: CityLink
New York City is hanging up its payphones for good, in favor of a high-tech alternative pushed forward by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Announced Monday by the Mayor's office, the winner of a competition to replace ageing payphones with something more modern is CityBridge, a designer of a device network which will give all five NYC boroughs free wireless Internet.
The LinkNYC booths will give New Yorkers 24/7 free Internet with up to gigabit speeds, free phone calls to anywhere in the United States, a touchscreen tablet interface to access city services, wayfinding, 911 and 311 calls and free call phone charging. The booths -- also known as "Links" within the device network -- will also display adverts and public service announcements digitally.
Each booth, encased in aluminium, will be nearly 10-foot-high and support a Wi-Fi radius of 150 feet. Up to 10,000 links across the boroughs have been pledged by the NYC Mayor, and they will be checked twice a week for graffiti.
De Blasio says the construction of the booths will be at "no-cost to taxpayers and generate more than $500 million in revenue for the city over the next 12 years," as well creating a number of new jobs. Instead, advertising will support the project, of which a revenue portion will be shared with the city.
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"This administration has been committed to expanding affordable access to broadband for all New Yorkers from the outset. It's essential for everything we need to do to be a fair and just city, because we can't continue to have a digital divide that holds back so many of our citizens," said the Mayor.
"With this proposal for the fastest and largest municipal Wi-Fi network in the world -- accessible to and free for all New Yorkers and visitors alike -- we’re taking a critical step toward a more equal, open and connected city -- for every New Yorker, in every borough."
The Link booths were envisioned by the Antenna Design team, Masamichi Udagawa and Sigi Moeslinger. CityBride has promised to establish a local facility for producing and repairing the booths, and this is expected to create 100 to 150 new full-time jobs in manufacturing, technology and advertising, as well as an estimated 650 support jobs.
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