NYC will have thousands of free gigabit Wi-fi hubs
(Mirror Daily, United States) – Although we are almost in 2016, this year still has some surprises for us such as the fact that NYC turns pay phones into Wi-Fi kiosks.
Pay phones are a thing of the past. Although not all of them are out of work and some people still use them occasionally, they started to lose their appeal long ago and are only used for emergencies, like when you happen to forget your mobile phone at home.
The announcement for the hubs was made last November but it was only now that officials managed to create the first free public Wi-Fi access points in New York City. The LinkNYC network spots will offer besides free Wi-fi, USB charging ports and touch-screen internet access which will come, of course, with digital ads.
Now, don’t expect to be able to use them just yet and also, don’t expect to see them everywhere around the city as the installation timeline is of 12 years. In 12 years, CityBridge has to install at least 7,500 access points in all parts of NYC, with at least 510 to be available within a year and 120 days and 4,500 within four years.
The test period will last for no more than two weeks and after that we should be able to use them. The Wi-Fi speed will depend on the hubs location. The fastest ones will be located around Manhattan while in other areas we might only have access to Mbps instead of gigabits.
It is expected that CityBridge will go over the 7,500 minimum as they are said to be gaining money from advertising as well. This means that every new kiosk brings new money to the company. Besides, if they don’t finish in time, they will have to pay fines, established by officials.
Although the area with the highest Wi-Fi speed will be Manhattan, which is already the most developed one and doesn’t necessarily lack internet access, the hubs are a good thing for the other areas of NYC as well. Some areas were very poor in Wi-Fi access, and now having it for free will make it a lot easier to the citizens of NYC to connect to the Internet.
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