Multiple Upper West Side subway stations now have free wireless access, meaning you can access the Internet, email and apps whether or not your carrier’s cell phone signal reaches you underground. The full list of stations where wi-fi is available is posted below. So far, we have seen signs or heard from readers that the service is available at the 79th street station for the 1 line and the 81st street station for the B and C line. We also hear from a commenter below that it is now at the 72nd street 1, 2 and 3 station. Anywhere you see the “Wi-Fi” sign above, you should be able to log in. The network is called “Boingo”.
The service is provided by company Transit Wireless at no cost, and it’s currently being funded by Norwegian Cruise Lines.
Transit Wireless is still testing the wi-fi, but expects it to become a permanent fixture at the stations, funded by sponsors. “We are planning a larger roll-out very soon, including offering mobile phone service on AT&T and T-Mobile USA, which will be announced at a press conference,” spokesman Jared Leavitt tells us. “At that time, the plan is to have the Wi-Fi be sponsored.”
Update: Transit Wireless has sent us the full list of Upper West Side stations with wi-fi:
Midtown-57 St-7 Av (N,Q,R,W)
59 St-Columbus Circle (A,B,C,D,1)
72 St (B,C)
72 St (1,2,3)
79 St (1)
81 St-Museum of Natural History (B,C)
86 St (B,C)
86 St (1)
96 St (B,C)
Ken, a reader, says that his phone warned him against joining the Boingo network: “They have some sort of security issue with the network however because my iPhone warned me that the server could not be identified, and wanted to know if I really wanted to proceed. Not being sure if it was really MTA wifi (Boingo? Really? wtf?) or someone looking to steal my banking info, I did not let it connect. There seems to also be a second locked network called Test24. Not sure what that is. I’m guessing we are ahead of the curve here and they will catch us up soon.”
Thanks to Meg for the photo.
I saw a sign this morning at the 1/2/3 72nd St. station.
I saw a sign at the B/C 72nd St. station last night.
Not only is there wireless service at B/C 72nd Street station, it is surprisingly fast! The service is administered via Boingo.
The 96th St B/C station has it.
The iPhone app iTrans NYC has incorporated real time schedules and delay alerts into a more sophisticated mapping interface than can be found in the earliest apps that jumped on real time data delivery. Alas it still failed to warn of a 96th St. 2 train that was making local stops instead of really being an express option. Luckily Empire is open late when I can’t quickly get to Little Korea’s 24/7 cafes.
Great! Now the mindless morons who can’t separate themselves from their e-mail while walking down the sidewalk, or even while crossing the street, will be able to make the rest of us dodge out of their way on the crowded subway platform, too.
Can’t you people do without your e-mail for even a *few* minutes?? Ever stop to notice the real world around you anymore? Or do you really enjoy being in the matrix all that much?
E-mail is useful, but for me it has its place. I guess I just don’t get the charm of constant, unending attachment to it.
DO YOU EVER SEE PEOPLE WHEN THEY COME OUT OF THEIR HOMES THE FIRST THING THE MAJORITY OF THEM DO IS REACH FOR THEIR PHONES AND START CHECKING……DUH!!!! YOU JUST CAME OUT OF YOUR HOUSE!!! WHAT CHANGED IN THAT 1 OR 2 MINUTES BEFORE YOU HIT THE STREET….PEOPLE CONTINUE TO AMAZE ME EVERY DAY
BAH HUMBUG!
It’s also working at the 86th Street B, C station.
Can we get the $200 of Homeland Security Grants we used to disable and scramble wireless that were installed in Grand Central and all over NY City in the wake of 9-11?
Idiots lobbied to break wireless in tunnels and now they want it! But I had to look at signs saying the wireless was provided first by Google, then Microsoft and now these generic signs-about time-but the access really sucks as it makes you view advertising-
An increase in police activity will soon follow as more people become unaware of their surroundings while fidgeting with their phones.
Why not 66th Street??
the Iphone thieves will now know exactly what stations to stake out. Perhaps the money would have been better spent on cleaning the stations, getting rid of rats, and safety issues.