Pay phones are over in New York City. Soon, however, 7,000 futuristic looking Link towers will be a standard presence among the New York streetscape.
"[The] New York City mayor's office announced the winning bid to transform the city's existing payphone infrastructure," report Mario Aguilar. "LinkNYC will bring free gigabit Wi-Fi connectivity to some 7000 street towers. It's one of the largest and most ambitious citywide Wi-Fi networks in the world."
The LinkNYC contract is the result of a request for proposals announced earlier this year. New Links will be deployed in every borough in the city. As for what the Link towers will offer: "In addition to an antenna providing 150 foot Wi-Fi radius, the 9.5-foot towers will have a built-in Android tablets with series of pre-loaded apps, as well as a charging station for your personal gear. And of course, the Links are still phones, except now instead of popping in a quarter, you'll be able to make free calls to the fifty states."
In coverage for the Wall Street Journal, Mike Vilensky reports that "[construction] on the devices will begin next year, with roughly 500 set to become fully operational by year’s end. The city is pledging up to 10,000 Links."
FULL STORY: The Plan to Turn NYC's Old Payphones Into Free Gigabit Wi-Fi Hot Spots
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