New York City is expecting to see its annual revenue increase by $17.5 million thanks to the installation of a new wireless hotspot network, telecompaper.com reports.
The city’s department of IT and telecommunications (DoITT) this week submitted plans to establish more than 7,000 free Wi-Fi points across the city. The equipment will be housed in disused public payphones.
According to local government officials, much of the project will be funded by the sale of prime digital advertising space. Given their previous uses, a large portion of the sites are located in commercial corridors where advertising space can be sold at much higher prices.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio spoke highly of the plans. He was quoted by bkreader.com as saying: “By using a historic part of New York’s street fabric, we can significantly enhance public availability of increasingly-vital broadband access, invite new and innovative digital services, and increase revenue to the city-all at absolutely no cost to taxpayers.”
In its proposal, the DoITT says that the new internet hubs will allow free calls to be made to emergency services, as well as tourist information sources.
It has also been suggested that the stations could provide New Yorkers with smartphone-charging facilities, information screens and even business transaction interfaces.
