New York City gains public gigabit Wi-Fi through first LinkNYC kiosks
A long-awaited public Wi-Fi initiative, LinkNYC, is now officially live in New York City, providing people within range of the kiosks with free Internet access as well as ports for charging phones and tablets.
The first four kiosks were turned on Tuesday morning along Third Avenue in Manhattan, Bloomberg reported. More kiosks will go live in the next several weeks. Within eight years, the total across the city is expected to reach 7,500.
Access can be as simple as selecting the "LinkNYC Free Wi-Fi" hotspot under a device's Wi-Fi settings and entering an email address, which will automatically connect whenever any of the kiosks are within range. People worried about security can get a key for an encrypted connection, although this requires additional steps.
Each kiosk has a guaranteed range of 150 feet, and one gigabit of bandwidth, though individual users are more likely to see upload and download speeds closer to 300 megabits per second. This is still much faster than most cellular or landline Internet connections in the U.S. Range can theoretically extend up to 400 feet, as long as there are no obstacles in the way.
Other features include free VoIP calls through Vonage, and a dedicated button for calling 911. Maintenance costs should be offset by two 55-inch displays showing ads and public service announcements.
The kiosks are the result of a collaboration between the city government and CityBridge, a consortium including Qualcomm, Intersection, and CIVIQ Smartscapes.
The first four kiosks were turned on Tuesday morning along Third Avenue in Manhattan, Bloomberg reported. More kiosks will go live in the next several weeks. Within eight years, the total across the city is expected to reach 7,500.
Access can be as simple as selecting the "LinkNYC Free Wi-Fi" hotspot under a device's Wi-Fi settings and entering an email address, which will automatically connect whenever any of the kiosks are within range. People worried about security can get a key for an encrypted connection, although this requires additional steps.
Each kiosk has a guaranteed range of 150 feet, and one gigabit of bandwidth, though individual users are more likely to see upload and download speeds closer to 300 megabits per second. This is still much faster than most cellular or landline Internet connections in the U.S. Range can theoretically extend up to 400 feet, as long as there are no obstacles in the way.
Other features include free VoIP calls through Vonage, and a dedicated button for calling 911. Maintenance costs should be offset by two 55-inch displays showing ads and public service announcements.
The kiosks are the result of a collaboration between the city government and CityBridge, a consortium including Qualcomm, Intersection, and CIVIQ Smartscapes.
Comments
"LinkNYC delivers seamless, free internet (within a 400-foot range in some instances) — but it also warrants the usual questions of privacy in respect to user-data. The company makes good use of encryption through HotSpot 2.0, a tool which acts as a kind of safety blanket meant to surveil existing security tools.
“LinkNYC will offer an encrypted network for HotSpot 2.0-enabled devices, making it one of the first encrypted public wifi networks and adding a critical layer of protection to personal data. On the LinkNYC Private Network, no one can see your online activity.”
The question of governments collecting user data from Links follows the usual paradigm; however, LinkNYC notes that it will never sell user information to feed advertisers or third parties: “Like any other wifi providers or wireless carrier, we will respond to legitimate requests from law enforcement as required.”
by the way hasn't there been similar initiatives before, now it's just secure and faster(I'm not complaining)?
The only thing they could get from you is the MAC address, if that botters you, use a buy a USB WIFI one for your laptop, their cheap, and use it as a kind of burner phone...
Of course, if you're device is a sieve... Like some devices.. Then there would issue of your device being vulnerable, like on any WIFI network anywhere.
Then you could maybe worry from Man-in-middle attacks or direct attacks from people on the same subnet,
unless the router(s) isolate everyone who connects from each other in their own little private space, then it's pretty safe even for the unpatched.
"Maintenance costs should be offset by two 55-inch displays showing ads and public service announcements."
https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/