image via NYCGOV Tumblr
New York City already has tons of free Wi-Fi hotspots, but is going to add some more as well as make use of some of the outdated pay phone kiosks around the city. They are currently testing a pilot program to install free Wi-Fi hotspots into select pay phones. The hotspots will come to ten kiosks in three of the boroughs initially and will be open to the public for free.
All users have to do is agree to the terms and then get browsing after being brought to the city’s tourism site. The pay phones have been equipped with powerful antennas that provide service up to 300 feet away. Van Wagner Communications, who owns many of the pay phones around the city, installed the Wi-Fi for free despite the cost of $2000.
The city hopes to have all 13,000 pay phones be made into Wi-Fi hotspots in the future, as people complain about their uselessness and attraction to crime, with the pay phone companies maintaining them The companies will likely put ads in the Wi-Fi in the future to help subsidize the cost. The city is not only finding a use for an old technology, but also making its people happy. Hopefully other cities will follow NYC’s example.
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