Every year, the Wireless Broadband Alliance recognizes and celebrates excellence from across the wireless ecosystem at the WBA Industry Awards.
The 2016 Awards took place during the Wireless Global Congress in San Jose on 16 November. In this new series of blogs, we’re highlighting the evening’s winners and taking a closer look at what led to them receiving their award.
In this edition, we’re looking at the groundbreaking LinkNYC initiative, which received the award for Best Connected City Deployment. Alphonso Jenkins, Deputy Commissioner for Telecommunications Planning at NYC Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications, was kind enough to answer a few questions.
Can you give us a brief breakdown on LinkNYC – what does it offer the citizens and visitors of New York City?
LinkNYC is a program that was borne by the city of New York’s need to replace all outdated and unusable public pay telephones – around 8,000 to 10,000 of them. We put out requests for proposals for new equipment and technology that could potentially replace these payphones, and in 2014 we awarded a franchise agreement to CityBridge, which is an NYC-based combination of companies that ultimately became responsible for the rollout of our LinkNYC kiosks.
These kiosks feature two 55-inch tall digital advertising screens, as well as free public Wi-Fi hotspots. They also allow people to make free domestic phone calls with voice over IP, and an emergency button for 911 calls if someone requires the police or medical assistance. USB ports are built into the kiosks which allows for the charging of smartphones and tablets. There is also the ability to accommodate sensors inside of the kiosks, which can provide the city with information about noise, air pollution, and other environmental factors.
At a minimum, CityBridge will place 7,500 kiosks around the city, and upwards of 10,000 if needed. We’re aiming to place these kiosks in areas across the Five Boroughs that are traditionally lacking in high-quality broadband services. These kiosk placements will also generate revenue for the city at absolutely no cost to the taxpayer.
Interview with Alphonso Jenkins at the Wireless Global Congress in San Jose – November 2016
How is LinkNYC expected to evolve and grow in 2017 and beyond?
The first LinkNYC kiosks began to be installed in December of 2015, and just over a year later, we have about 600 kiosks in the streets of New York City. By this time next year, we will have at least 1,000 kiosks deployed, for a total of 1,500 – 1,600. By the fourth year of our franchise agreement (which is a 12-year agreement), it’s mandated that we will 4, 450 kiosks in the streets.
Alphonso Jenkins accepts the award for Best Connected City Deployment from JR Wilson, Chairman of the WBA, at the WBA Industry Awards.
What does it mean to you on a personal level, and to New York City, to be recognized for LinkNYC with the WBA Industry Award for Best Connected City Deployment?
It’s an honor to be a part of the WBA, and it’s an honor for the city of New York to win such a prestigious award from the organization. For me, personally, it’s been very rewarding to come into the role of Deputy Commissioner for Telecommunications Planning and be a part of the challenge of provisioning broadband services to the extent that we’ve accomplished what we set out to do, so far, in a sustainable way. I think that it creates a wonderful future not just for New Yorkers, but for citizens around the world.
Learn more about LinkNYC here.
