Audio Video News

Old payphone booths are being replaced with blazing fast gigabit Wi-Fi hotspots in 10,000 locations around New York City, according to a report in Gizmodo. The service is not only fast but free.

From the report:

The blazing wireless internet—which we clocked at a ridiculous 400 Mbps—is enabled by components developed by Qualcomm, one of the three companies behind CityBridge. For those that are unfamiliar, CityBridge is the New York-based group of companies made up of Qualcomm, CIVIQ and Intersection. CityBridge is the group that’s working with the city to replace over 7,500 existing pay phones with ultra-futuristic fountains of reliable wifi.

There’s a lot riding on whether or not the wifi works. New York City’s new gigabit internet service is the initial testing ground for a project that could be rolled out to cities around the world. LinkNYC isn’t an exception—especially as it’s the biggest public wifi project in history.

Kiva Allgood, vice president of Qualcomm’s Intelligent Solutions division, says LinkNYC is part of a Smart Cities initiative that aims to take similar internet infrastructure around the world—but it starts in New York.

“We bring the wifi, all those antennas, and put them in a metal box,” Allgood told Gizmodo. “It does have to pay for itself. New York is unique with advertising.” The $200 million project will generate a lot of income through ads, which’ll play on big electronic displays on the side of each unit. Since New York brims with over 8 million data-hungry humans roaming the streets, those ads are prime real estate, especially when you consider LinkNYC’s mission of planting a Link every 150 feet.

You’re probably wondering how each Link will be able to handle the hundreds of tired tourists huddling on the curb for a mini-binge of Orange Is the New Black. While we were told that LinkNYC is supposed to be something of a fleeting experience, allowing people to perform quick, on-the-go tasks like checking email, Allgood assured me that the tech inside each Link is built to withstand dozens of streaming video-watchers.

Read the full report here.