#LinkNYC Now in Brooklyn & Staten Island
Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
CityBridge partners, the New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams announced this week LinkNYC’s launch in Brooklyn with the activation of two Link Wi-Fi kiosks on Fulton St. in Bed-Stuy.
CityBridge also announced the installation of the first Link kiosk on Staten Island. Since Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the public launch of LinkNYC in February, more than 500 Links have been installed across all five boroughs. Each Link provides New Yorkers with free, fast Wi-Fi, free domestic calling, two USB charging ports, and direct access to 911 and 311. More than 700,000 people have signed up to use the free Wi-Fi, which is already being used three million times per week.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said “Working in partnership with the de Blasio administration and my fellow borough presidents, we have expanded LinkNYC in a fashion that is meaningfully helping to close the digital divide in all five boroughs. I look forward to Brooklynites benefiting from use of Wi-Fi kiosks in Bedford-Stuyvesant and across our borough”.
In November 2014, following a competitive bid process, the de Blasio Administration announced the selection of CityBridge – a consortium of companies that includes Intersection, Qualcomm, and CIVIQ Smartscapes – to develop and operate the first-of-its-kind LinkNYC network, bringing the world’s fastest public Wi-Fi to millions of New Yorkers and visitors. The five-borough network is funded entirely through advertising and will generate more than $500 million in revenue for the City.
LinkNYC’s roll out is following the installation of high-speed fiber optic cables throughout the city. Users will be able to stay connected with superfast Wi-Fi, even as they move through the five boroughs. The Administration worked closely with the Borough Presidents to determine a guaranteed number of Links in each borough – as outlined in the franchise agreement with CityBridge – to ensure this project would reach neighborhoods across the five boroughs.
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