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On April 30, 2014, the [[New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications]] requested proposals for how to go about converting the city's over 7,000 dated payphones into a citywide Wi-Fi network. A previous competition sought ideas to "reinvent" the payphones and 125 responses suggested a Wi-Fi network, but none came with plans for how that would be accomplished. A new competition was held and the winner stood to receive a contract to maintain up to 10,000 communication points.<ref name=WNYC-GoodbyePayPhones-2016/><ref name="HuffPo-LinkNYC-WinningBi-2014">{{cite news|last1=McCarthy|first1=Tyler|title=New York City Seriously Wants To Turn Pay Phones Into WiFi Hotspots|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/08/nyc-payphone-free-wi-fi_n_5291054.html|accessdate=November 17, 2014|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=May 8, 2014}}</ref> The bid was awarded to the consortium CityBridge, which consists of [[Qualcomm]], [[Titan (transit advertising company)|Titan]], [[Control Group]], and [[Comark]] in November 2014.<ref name=NYC-LinkNYC-WinningBid-2014>{{cite news|url=http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/923-14/de-blasio-administration-winner-competition-replace-payphones-five-borough|title=De Blasio Administration Announces Winner of Competition to Replace Payphones with Five-Borough Wi-Fi Network|accessdate=November 17, 2014|work=[[Government of New York City]]|date=November 17, 2014}}</ref><ref name="CityBridge-MediaKit-2014">{{cite news|title=Gigabit Wi-Fi And that’s just the beginning|url=http://www.link.nyc/assets/downloads/LinkNYC-Fact-Sheet.pdf|accessdate=November 17, 2014|work=CityBridge|date=November 17, 2014}}</ref><ref name="LightReading-WhosFeedingFiber-2015" /> [[Titan (transit advertising company)|Titan]] was the company that previously supplied New York City's public payphones, and was later embroiled in accusations of embedding radio transmitters in the phones.<ref name="VillageVoice-LinkNYC-Beacons-2014">{{cite news|last1=Stuart|first1=Tessa|title=New Wi-Fi 'Payphones' May Include Controversial Location-Tracking Beacons|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/new-wi-fi-payphones-may-include-controversial-location-tracking-beacons-6699430|accessdate=July 25, 2016|work=[[The Village Voice]]|date=November 19, 2014}}</ref>
On April 30, 2014, the [[New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications]] requested proposals for how to go about converting the city's over 7,000 dated payphones into a citywide Wi-Fi network. A previous competition sought ideas to "reinvent" the payphones and 125 responses suggested a Wi-Fi network, but none came with plans for how that would be accomplished. A new competition was held and the winner stood to receive a contract to maintain up to 10,000 communication points.<ref name=WNYC-GoodbyePayPhones-2016/><ref name="HuffPo-LinkNYC-WinningBi-2014">{{cite news|last1=McCarthy|first1=Tyler|title=New York City Seriously Wants To Turn Pay Phones Into WiFi Hotspots|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/08/nyc-payphone-free-wi-fi_n_5291054.html|accessdate=November 17, 2014|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=May 8, 2014}}</ref> The bid was awarded to the consortium CityBridge, which consists of [[Qualcomm]], [[Titan (transit advertising company)|Titan]], [[Control Group]], and [[Comark]] in November 2014.<ref name=NYC-LinkNYC-WinningBid-2014>{{cite news|url=http://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/923-14/de-blasio-administration-winner-competition-replace-payphones-five-borough|title=De Blasio Administration Announces Winner of Competition to Replace Payphones with Five-Borough Wi-Fi Network|accessdate=November 17, 2014|work=[[Government of New York City]]|date=November 17, 2014}}</ref><ref name="CityBridge-MediaKit-2014">{{cite news|title=Gigabit Wi-Fi And that’s just the beginning|url=http://www.link.nyc/assets/downloads/LinkNYC-Fact-Sheet.pdf|accessdate=November 17, 2014|work=CityBridge|date=November 17, 2014}}</ref><ref name="LightReading-WhosFeedingFiber-2015" /> [[Titan (transit advertising company)|Titan]] was the company that previously supplied New York City's public payphones, and was later embroiled in accusations of embedding radio transmitters in the phones.<ref name="VillageVoice-LinkNYC-Beacons-2014">{{cite news|last1=Stuart|first1=Tessa|title=New Wi-Fi 'Payphones' May Include Controversial Location-Tracking Beacons|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/new-wi-fi-payphones-may-include-controversial-location-tracking-beacons-6699430|accessdate=July 25, 2016|work=[[The Village Voice]]|date=November 19, 2014}}</ref>


In June 2015, Control Group and Titan announced their merger into one company, known as [[Intersection (company)|Intersection]], and acquisition by a consortium of investors led by [[Sidewalk Labs]], a subsidiary of [[Alphabet Inc.]] that focuses on solving problems unique to urban environments.<ref name="Observer-SidewalkLabs-2015">{{cite news|last1=Dale|first1=Brady|title=Seven Urban Technologies Google-Backed Sidewalk Labs Might Advance|url=http://observer.com/2015/06/google-sidewalk-labs-larry-page-dan-doctoroff/|accessdate=January 26, 2016|work=[[The New York Observer|Observer]]|date=June 16, 2015|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Control Group and Titan Merge to form Intersection|url=http://www.intersection.com/assets/downloads/Press-Release.pdf |date=June 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Verge-SidewalkLabs-2015">{{cite web|title=Google's Sidewalk Labs is taking over the plan to blanket NYC with free Wi-Fi|url=http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/23/8834863/google-sidewalk-labs-linknyc-free-wifi|website=[[The Verge]]|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref> [[Daniel L. Doctoroff]], the former CEO of [[Bloomberg L.P.]] and former New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, is the CEO of Sidewalk Labs.<ref name="FT-FirstKiosks-2016">{{cite news|last1=Crow|first1=David|title=First WiFi kiosks set to land on New York’s streets|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b86ecb52-b343-11e5-b147-e5e5bba42e51.html#axzz3yJaI3H46|accessdate=January 26, 2016|work=[[Financial Times]]|date=January 5, 2016}}</ref> New York City does not pay for the system, as the project is structured so that installation, ownership, and operations are done by the private consortium, CityBridge, who is responsible for building the new optic infrastructure under the streets. The project is financed by advertising, which will provide revenue for New York City, as well as the partners involved in CityBridge.<ref name="VillageVoice-LinkNYC-Beacons-2014" />
In June 2015, Control Group and Titan announced their merger into one company, known as [[Sidewalk Labs#Intersection and Link|Intersection]], and acquisition by a consortium of investors led by [[Sidewalk Labs]], a subsidiary of [[Alphabet Inc.]] that focuses on solving problems unique to urban environments.<ref name="Observer-SidewalkLabs-2015">{{cite news|last1=Dale|first1=Brady|title=Seven Urban Technologies Google-Backed Sidewalk Labs Might Advance|url=http://observer.com/2015/06/google-sidewalk-labs-larry-page-dan-doctoroff/|accessdate=January 26, 2016|work=[[The New York Observer|Observer]]|date=June 16, 2015|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=Control Group and Titan Merge to form Intersection|url=http://www.intersection.com/assets/downloads/Press-Release.pdf |date=June 23, 2015}}</ref><ref name="Verge-SidewalkLabs-2015">{{cite web|title=Google's Sidewalk Labs is taking over the plan to blanket NYC with free Wi-Fi|url=http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/23/8834863/google-sidewalk-labs-linknyc-free-wifi|website=[[The Verge]]|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref> [[Daniel L. Doctoroff]], the former CEO of [[Bloomberg L.P.]] and former New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, is the CEO of Sidewalk Labs.<ref name="FT-FirstKiosks-2016">{{cite news|last1=Crow|first1=David|title=First WiFi kiosks set to land on New York’s streets|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b86ecb52-b343-11e5-b147-e5e5bba42e51.html#axzz3yJaI3H46|accessdate=January 26, 2016|work=[[Financial Times]]|date=January 5, 2016}}</ref> New York City does not pay for the system, as the project is structured so that installation, ownership, and operations are done by the private consortium, CityBridge, who is responsible for building the new optic infrastructure under the streets. The project is financed by advertising, which will provide revenue for New York City, as well as the partners involved in CityBridge.<ref name="VillageVoice-LinkNYC-Beacons-2014" />


=== Installation ===
=== Installation ===

Revision as of 15:12, 15 September 2016

LinkNYC
FoundedNovember 7, 2014 (2014-11-07) in New York City, United States
Area served
New York metropolitan area
BrandsLinkNYC
ServicesWireless communication
OwnerCityBridge consortium:
Intersection
Qualcomm
CIVIQ Smartscapes
Websitelink.nyc

LinkNYC is an infrastructure project designed to create a network to cover New York City with free Wi-Fi service. The plan was announced by the mayor's office on November 17, 2014, and the installation of the first kiosks started in late 2015.

The project brings free, encrypted, gigabit wireless internet coverage to the five boroughs by converting old payphones into hotspot points. There will be 7,500 kiosks installed in the New York metropolitan area, making the system the world's fastest and most expansive. LinkNYC is also seen as a model for future city builds as part of smart city data pools and infrastructure.

History

Bids

Historical overview of entities involved in LinkNYC project

On April 30, 2014, the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications requested proposals for how to go about converting the city's over 7,000 dated payphones into a citywide Wi-Fi network. A previous competition sought ideas to "reinvent" the payphones and 125 responses suggested a Wi-Fi network, but none came with plans for how that would be accomplished. A new competition was held and the winner stood to receive a contract to maintain up to 10,000 communication points.[1][2] The bid was awarded to the consortium CityBridge, which consists of Qualcomm, Titan, Control Group, and Comark in November 2014.[3][4][5] Titan was the company that previously supplied New York City's public payphones, and was later embroiled in accusations of embedding radio transmitters in the phones.[6]

In June 2015, Control Group and Titan announced their merger into one company, known as Intersection, and acquisition by a consortium of investors led by Sidewalk Labs, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. that focuses on solving problems unique to urban environments.[7][8][9] Daniel L. Doctoroff, the former CEO of Bloomberg L.P. and former New York City Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding, is the CEO of Sidewalk Labs.[10] New York City does not pay for the system, as the project is structured so that installation, ownership, and operations are done by the private consortium, CityBridge, who is responsible for building the new optic infrastructure under the streets. The project is financed by advertising, which will provide revenue for New York City, as well as the partners involved in CityBridge.[6]

Installation

CityBridge announced that it would be setting up about 7,000 access points, called "Links". Coverage was set to be up by late 2015, starting with about 500 Links in areas that already have payphones, and later to other areas.[11] These Links were to be placed online by the end of the year.[5]

After some delays, the first kiosks went online in January 2016.[12] On December 10, 2014, the network was approved by the city's Franchise and Concession Review Committee.[13] Installation of a station at 3rd Avenue and 15th Street began on December 28, 2015.[14] By mid-July 2016, the planned roll-out of 500 hubs throughout New York City was to occur.[15]

Description

Kiosks

Keyboard

The kiosks, also called Links, are 9.5 feet (2.9 m) tall, and are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.[16] Each is equipped with a gigabit speed, encrypted Wi-Fi connection with a 150 feet (46 m) range.[12][1] The kiosks include USB charging stations and free calling, through a partnership with Vonage. An integrated touchscreen offers maps and info about city services, and a digital display shows advertising and public service announcements. The Wi-Fi technology comes from Ruckus Wireless and is enabled by Qualcomm's Vive 802.11ac Wave 2 4x4 chipsets.[12] Antenna Design helped design the kiosks.[5]

Network

The consortium stated in its press release that the network would be free and funded by advertisements,[4] for which there will be 110 HD displays on each kiosk.[17] Links will be iconic connection points, designed by Antenna, that will have free phone calls to all 50 U.S. states; an Android tablet to access city maps, directions, and services; and free charging stations for smartphones. The announced specifications include Wi-Fi coverage with a 150-foot (46 m) radius; encrypted public access; gigabit speed; and a display for advertisements that would help pay for the free Wi-Fi.[5][11] The operating system is Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor with an Adreno 320 GPU.[17] The hardware and software are both designed to handle future upgrades. The software will be updated until at least 2022.[17]

The Links feature a red 911 call button, two USB inputs that will work for powering devices only (no data transferring via USB),[18] and individual tablets that can be used to browse the internet.[19] Vonage provides free domestic phone call service, with the ability to make international calls using calling cards.[10]

CityBridge emphasized that it takes security and privacy seriously, and stated that it had worked with the city "to create the most robust and forward thinking privacy policy that is currently available for any municipal Wi-Fi project," but declined to publish either the policy or the encryption specifications or technology.[4] There will be two types of networks: a private (secured WPA/WPA2) network available to iOS devices and a public network available to all devices.[20] LinkNYC is intended to be the largest and fastest public wifi network in the world, with an estimated 7,500 kiosks installed throughout the New York City metropolitan area.[21] There would be capacity for up to 10,000 WiFi kiosks the network.[5]

Originally, the consortium operating the network was supposed to include Transit Wireless, which maintains the New York City Subway's wireless system. However, as neither company mentioned each other on their respective websites, one communications writer surmised that the deal had either not been implemented yet or had fallen through. Transit Wireless stated that "those details have not been finalized yet," and CityBridge "promised to let [the writer] know when more information is available."[5]

Controversies and concerns

Privacy

The deployment of the LinkNYC kiosks and the method, process, eventual selection, and ownership of entities involved in the project has come under scrutiny by privacy advocates,[22] who express concern about the terms of service, the financial model, as well as the concept of when things are free then the product is the end user, and in this case, the end user's data.[23] These concerns are aggravated by the involvement of Sidewalk Labs, which belongs to Google's holding company, Alphabet.[23] Google already has the ability to track the majority of all website visits,[24] and LinkNYC could be used to track people's movements.[23]

Google is in the business of taking as much information as it can get away with, from as many sources as possible, until someone steps in to stop it. ... But LinkNYC marks a radical step even for Google. It is an effort to establish a permanent presence across our city, block by block, and to extend its online model to the physical landscape we humans occupy on a daily basis. The company then intends to clone that system and start selling it around the world, government by government, to as many as will buy.

— Nick Pinto, Village Voice, July 6, 2016[23]

Content filtering

In the summer of 2016, a content filter was set up on the kiosks to prevent people from navigating to inappropriate websites (e.g. porn).[25] In September 2016, the Wi-Fi capabilities of the tablet browsers embedded into the kiosks were disabled due to concerns of illicit activities.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Gould, Jessica (January 5, 2016). "Goodbye Pay Phones, Hello LinkNYC". WNYC. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  2. ^ McCarthy, Tyler (May 8, 2014). "New York City Seriously Wants To Turn Pay Phones Into WiFi Hotspots". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  3. ^ "De Blasio Administration Announces Winner of Competition to Replace Payphones with Five-Borough Wi-Fi Network". Government of New York City. November 17, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c "Gigabit Wi-Fi And that's just the beginning" (PDF). CityBridge. November 17, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Who's Feeding Fiber to LinkNYC Hotspots?". Light Reading. June 25, 2015. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Stuart, Tessa (November 19, 2014). "New Wi-Fi 'Payphones' May Include Controversial Location-Tracking Beacons". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  7. ^ Dale, Brady (June 16, 2015). "Seven Urban Technologies Google-Backed Sidewalk Labs Might Advance". Observer. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  8. ^ "Control Group and Titan Merge to form Intersection" (PDF) (Press release). June 23, 2015.
  9. ^ "Google's Sidewalk Labs is taking over the plan to blanket NYC with free Wi-Fi". The Verge. Retrieved June 24, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Crow, David (January 5, 2016). "First WiFi kiosks set to land on New York's streets". Financial Times. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Aguilar, Mario (November 17, 2014). "The Plan to Turn NYC's Old Payphones Into Free Gigabit Wi-Fi Hot Spots". Gizmodo. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c Kleiman, Rob (January 19, 2016). "The first wave of high-speed public internet access via LinkNYC kiosks has arrived". psfk.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  13. ^ "DoITT - LinkNYC Franchises". New York City Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT). December 10, 2014. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  14. ^ Brandom, Russell (December 28, 2015). "New York is finally installing its promised public gigabit Wi-Fi". The Verge. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
  15. ^ Brandom, Russell (January 19, 2016). "New York's first public Wi-Fi hubs are now live". The Verge. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  16. ^ Crow, David (January 5, 2016). "The City's First Wi-Fi Kiosks Unveiled Today!". 6sqft.com. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Shah, Agam (March 7, 2016). "Users will get faster free Wi-Fi from hubs in New York". PCWorld. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  18. ^ Zeman, Eric (January 20, 2016). "LinkNYC WiFi Hotspots Kick Off". InformationWeek. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  19. ^ a b Mcgeehan, Patrick (September 14, 2016). "Free Wi-Fi Was to Aid New Yorkers. An Unsavory Side Spurs a Retreat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
  20. ^ Carman, Ashley (January 20, 2016). "How secure are New York City's new Wi-Fi hubs?". The Verge. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  21. ^ Alba, Alejandro (January 5, 2016). "New York to start replacing payphones with Wi-Fi kiosks". NY Daily News. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
  22. ^ Dean, Benjamin; Hirose, Mariko (July 24, 2016). "LinkNYC Spy Stations - from HOPE XI - LAMARR" (Livestream video). HOPE XI - The Eleventh HOPE Hackers On Planet Earth!. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  23. ^ a b c d Pinto, Nick (July 6, 2016). "Google Is Transforming NYC's Payphones Into a 'Personalized Propaganda Engine'". The Village Voice. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  24. ^ Yu, Zhonghao; Macbeth, Sam; Modi, Konark; Pujol, Josep M. (2016). "Tracking the Trackers". Proceedings of the 25th International Conference on World Wide Web. Montreal, Canada: International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee. pp. 121–132. Retrieved September 5, 2016. {{cite conference}}: Unknown parameter |booktitle= ignored (|book-title= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ Chung, Jen. "Yes, NYC's New WiFi Kiosks Are Still Being Used To View Porn". Gothamist. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
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