A city project to replace phone booths with wi-fi hotspots where people can make free calls and charge their devices has moved to the next step: they’re now switching the hotspots on. Feel the surge of free wi-fi!
The consortium putting the devices into the ground told us yesterday that they’ve now begun switching them on; according to the map of hotspots, three that had been activated as of Friday morning: one on Broadway between 72nd and 73rd street and two around 83rd and Broadway. Fifteen others have been placed, but not activated yet.
The kiosks continue to be installed throughout the area — phone booths were being removed just this week on Broadway and 110th street, as seen in the photo below by Ernie Fritz.
Here are some more details from CityBridge, the consortium installing them:
LinkNYC is a new communications network that is replacing New York City pay phones with state-of-the-art kiosks called Links. Each Link is equipped with free services like high-speed Wi-Fi, phone calls, a 911 button, a tablet for web browsing, and device charging for anyone living in or visiting New York City to enjoy. In addition to Link’s features being free to the public, they also come at no cost to taxpayers. Over the next several years, over 7,500 Links will be installed across the five boroughs.
Here’s a video on how to connect to one:
If you use one, let us know how it works in the comments.
“In addition to Link’s features being free to the public, they also come at no cost to taxpayers.”
Well, who is paying for these? As the line goes, when the service is free, you are the product.
It’s paid for by advertising. So no, you are not paying for it.
Exactly. It’s what we used to call TV!
And they actually did it with LESS COMMERCIAL TIME..
How about that?
Amen. Nothing is free.
not really. everyone is the product. They are putting advertising on them – just like everything in nyc.
that’s a different arguement, but at least there is a service being provided as part of it. The old phone booths stopped being functional years ago and just took up space – STILL with the advertising on them however.
This may help:
Here are the links to the map showing current etc locations in the city, and the general web page about LinkNYC
https://www.link.nyc/find-a-link.html
https://www.link.nyc/
I have to admit I’m curious as to how they are getting put in what are now historic/landmarked districts. When the MTA went to electronic advertising signs on its subway entrances there was a lot commentary about them and some of them were pulled.
Any thoughts, comments etc?
Come on WSR, no cost to taxpayers? Who is paying and what is their revenue model? Give us the whole story, not just the PR pitch of those involved.
Come on Bill, there’s a concept in business today called “advertising” which allows these sorts of services to be provided at no charge to consumers.
Its not hard to google:
https://screenmediadaily.com/citybridge-to-launch-linknyc-largest-urban-digital-ad-network/
They make money through advertising. They get to put fancy digital billboards all over the city where phone booths used to be. In exchange, we get free wifi at pretty fast speeds. Also note that in “residential” neighborhoods the kiosks are MUCH SMALLER.
This is a fantastic idea. Yes. It means we get a little more advertising. However, it means the reduction of barriers to internet access. This is not important for most of us on the UWS. We have enough resources for internet at home, and cell phone plans with data. However, there are millions of new yorkers who do not have that kind of access, who have smart phones (because they barely make dumbphones anymore) but still use minutes or have no data plan, and now have internet access. This kind of access allows you to do things like: pay bills, look for jobs, manage finances, etc, etc etc. Also facebook.
Nice way to just make space for billboards in our neighborhoods. Thought we already fought electronic billboards? They are too big and block the view. Stonehenge-sized is unnecessary.
I imagine the people finding fault with this no-cost service have Internet access at home, aren’t traveling from abroad or work for Time Warner. Or, maybe they’re just depressed.
So the cost is more advertising in the form of a visual assault on our senses. Like corporate America doesn’t have enough power over us. Those who dismiss advertising are poorly educated about the psychological impact and the effect on the deterioration of society. Just saying. Go ahead and rant.
I just want to make sure y’all understand – the advertising isn’t just the display on the kiosk. This is in their privacy policy: “In addition, We may use your information, including Personally Identifiable Information, to: Provide you with information about goods or services that may interest you; Send you emails about updates, information, or alerts regarding the Services.”
The “we” in this case is a fairly opaque consortium of companies and associations that make up CityBridge. I’ve got no real understanding of their actual plan, but, yeah, Qualcomm could mine your browsing history and location for marketing purposes if they cared to.
Photo is of 100th Street, just west of Broadway.
Anyone know the range on these wifi spots?
Apparently 150 feet.
I wonder how secure these networks are, seems like a new magnet for identity theft
At the very least, ensure encrypted https connections for sensitive data.
Of course, any public network is subject to MITM attacks. The really security-savvy verify a cert’s SHA256 fingerprints (cryptographic hash) but few people even have any idea what those are.
Alas, digital security lags way behind.
I saw several along 8th Avenue that appeared to have been activated last Sunday.
How close do you have to be to a Linc box to connect?
Wow… you people will complain about anything. A free service that will be useful to many and somehow this offends you? How cynical can you be? Complaining about advertising??? In 2016? This is how our economy works.
I do think the privacy concern is valid however. And I have this image in my head of 20 or 30 millennials sitting on the sidewalk clustered around these stations with their laptops and tablets.
I was at the 73rd & Bway when it was turned on. As mentioned before, the tech said the range is 150 ft. He said the public and private access connections have the same security????? The private connection is only available on iPhones at this point. Although he said once you connect you will reconnect when you come upon another kiosk but I had to accept the terms again. The speed on my Samsung S5 was 35mb up and down (not bad at all). I forget exactly where I was, I think around 67th and Bway, but there are 3 kiosks, one on each corner. Don’t get the need for 3 within 30 feet of each other. While I think the tech is good, at least for me, my phone has plenty of data so the need for point to point wifi is not that important. Now if I lived in one of those apartments right near a kiosk, we’d have something to talk about.
I find it interesting that the video depicts a completely unrealistic scenario. In the real world, affluent people with new smartphones have unlimited 4G data plans and no need or desire to connect to random WiFi networks when outdoors.
A cynical person might suggest that the company is greatly exaggerating the usefulness of this project so that people will more readily acquiesce to widespread installation of digital billboards around the city.
Why is no one talking about the health dangers of Wi-Fi? What health impact studies were done by the city before these towers were turned on? From experience, I am sensitive to strong wi-fi signals (I start feeling very anxious) – I wonder how many of my fellow NY’ers feel the same way:
https://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/10-shocking-facts-health-dangers-wifi/
In my home, I have done my best to minimize wi-fi exposure – my desktop is hard wired and I do not have a cell phone.
I am starting petition to get these things removed!