New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday a proposal to develop a free public Wi-Fi system for all five boroughs of New York City.
Wi-Fi hotspots would serve as replacements for public payphones, according to Daily Tech.
"This administration has committed to making New York City work better for every community, and this RFP for free outdoor Wi-Fi is a down payment on that promise," de Blasio said. "For years, the question was, 'What to do with payphones?' and now we have the answer. By using a historic part of New York's street fabric, we can significantly enhance public availability of increasingly-vital broadcast access, invite new and innovative digital services, and increase revenue to the city - all at absolutely no cost to taxpayers."
New York City has been looking to bring in Wi-Fi hotspots for years, with previous mayor of the city Michael Bloomberg launching a pilot project for the service in 2013, TIME reported.
NYC officials said that de Blasio's plan would have new contracts for the city's payphone kiosks issued "for the installation, operation, and maintenance of up to 10,000 public communications points distributed across the five boroughs."
The city also stated that the sale of digital advertising would be used to fund the new structures, which must be deployed within four years, Daily Tech reported.
The requirements include that the new franchise has to produce $17.5 million in guaranteed annual revenue for New York City through the end of June 2026.
The new kiosks will still offer traditional phone services, along with free 911 and 311 calls, TIME reported. They may also feature free cell-phone-charging stations and interactive touch screens, which can give local information and make business transactions easier. The kiosks could also include solar-energy cells.
"We're very happy to see this administration take such a bold step forward in promoting ubiquitous free Wi-Fi Internet access," said Dan Spiegel, executive director of NYCwireless. "If this is any indication of things to come, we're very excited about the city's commitment to open, competitive and innovative solutions to bring the Internet to everyone."
