Back in 2014, LinkNYC theorized a construction project for New York City to provide areas within the five boroughs with free, public Gigabit Wi-Fi. On December 28, installation of the access points—”links”—began.
The revolutionary LinkNYC project is intended to reinvent the now outdated pay phone booth with techy-looking towers called links, which will act much like a Wi-Fi access point in your home. These links provide up to Gigabit speeds to nearby devices but also offer free nationwide phone calls, 311 and 911 access, a multitude of USB charging ports, and two centered 55” displays to check directions and city services. Advertisements will also be featured on the displays as sources of revenue for the public wireless service; in the end, promising (fingers-crossed) to cost taxpayers nothing. These advertisements on the links are estimated to generate more than $500 million in revenue over 12 years.
Up to 7,500 LinkNYC links are estimated to be installed throughout New York, and the transmitted Gigabit Wi-Fi is nearly 100 times faster than average municipal bandwidth speeds. For now, near Manhattan’s Union Square, the first appearance of a link’s construction site surfaced outside of a Starbucks on 15th St and 3rd Avenue. LinkNYC and the city hope to build a total of 500 other hubs scattered throughout the city by mid-July. For this specific link, one to two weeks of testing is required before New Yorkers can get a taste of its free, hyper speed Wi-Fi.
The project has not come without controversy, but if taxpayers won’t be forced to carry the burden (a broken promise made often by governments), I personally don’t see an issue with it. Inventive methods of implementing technology into aging metropolises should be embraced and encouraged. However, is this a slippery slope that will lead to tracking unwarranted civilians and force-feed customized advertisements? What are your thoughts?
