New York City leaders revealed on Monday the city-wide project called LinkNYC, which will convert the payphones in the area to Wi-Fi hotspots. Construction will begin next year, with the first Link structures to go online by late 2015.
The official website for the project says, "LinkNYC is a first-of-its-kind communications network that will bring the fastest available municipal Wi-Fi to millions of New Yorkers, small businesses, and visitors."
The project will be handled by a consortium of New York-based companies including Control Group, Comark, Titan, and Qualcomm, as well as Transit Wireless and Antenna Design — collectively called CityBridge.
"LinkNYC will fundamentally transform New York City and set the standard for responsive cities for years to come," Control Group's chief operating officer Colin O'Donnell said, as quoted by CNet.
The city earmarks $200 million for the endeavor from which it expects to profit. According to CNet's report, Skybridge and the city will share advertising and other revenues equally during the first year. The consortium will also pay the city $20 million per annum, a significant difference from what New York receives from the payphone network. In the last fiscal year, the city received $16.5 million for the payphones.
The LinkNYC website says, "The five-borough LinkNYC network, which will be funded through advertising revenues, will be built at no cost to taxpayers and will generate more than $500 million in revenue for the City over the first 12 years."
The pilot program was rolled out in mid-2012 involving only 10 payphones. In May this year, the city requested proposals with a minimum requirement of free Wi-Fi and free 911 and 311 calls. The LinkNYC project will provide a lot more than the minimum as it also includes free charging, free calls to anywhere in the country, and an Android-based touchscreen tablet with microphone and directional speakers that people can use to find directions and access city services. Each Link structure will also have a digital display for ads and public service announcements, as well as a tactile keypad with Braille, a headphone jack, a USB port for charging, and a dedicated 911 button. Furthermore, the hotspots will boast breakneck Wi-Fi connection speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, and residents and visitors can enjoy free Internet access 24 hours a day.
According to CNet, the project will proceed for another six years after the first sites go online. Up to 10,000 Links are expected to be put up in all five New York boroughs.
