NYC is proposing just that. The project began in 2012, led by then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, in an effort to respond to the “widespread adoption of mobile devices” that “reduces the overall need for public telephones” but increases they need for connectivity. Per the city’s proposal, “the Wi-Fi hot spots will need to work together, enabling users to log in once and stay connected” as they roam throughout the city. There are currently more than 7,300 pay phones in the city’s 5 boroughs.
The city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications held an information session this week and bids were submitted yesterday. Amongst the 50 attendees at the session were Google, Cisco Systems Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. While all 4 of those companies are of interest, the big eye opener for me was Google.
Google has already been working toward rolling out broadband services in several U.S. cities, including Mountain View, CA and the Chelsea neighborhood of NYC where they have offices. What’s in it for them? The more consumers on the Internet, the more benefits to its own user base and ad services.
Without an award, we’re still in the early phases of this project but in the mean time we’ll have to keep our eyes on NYC to see what we can learn for expansion in other cities and markets.
What do you think? In 5 years, do you think that we’ll see this kind of connectivity in the mid-Atlantic? Will our pay-phones be replaced by these Wi-Fi hot spots?
Teltek is a Certified Avaya Business Partner, NEC Dealer, and Microsoft Partner with two locations in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. We specialize in providing one call technology support for small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits in Maryland, Washington, DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania