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New York Will Build a City-Wide Wi-Fi Network Off of Its Old Payphones

Samantha Shankman

Photo Credit: These underused payphones will soon power New York City's city-wide Wi-Fi network. Flickr / Guian Bolisay

Skift Take

Smaller cities and countries including the Estonian capital of Tallinn and South Korea have had the most success at blanketing their borders with free wireless service. New York City's attempt at free city-wide Wi-Fi will be a well-watched experiment by cities around the world.

New York City, already one of the most connected cities for travelers, took a big step today towards making public networks stronger and better spread throughout the city. New York City officials are planning to turn 7,300 public payphones into one of the largest free Wi-Fi networks in the country. New York City’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, which issued a Request for Proposals today, wants the structures to provide 24/7 free Wi-Fi as well as free 911 and 311 calls. There are currently 27 payphone hotspots throughout New York City today that provi

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