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NYC To Replace Most of Its Payphones With Free Gigabit WiFi In 2015

Posted by Soulskill on from the gotta-head-to-the-payphone-to-torrent-something dept.

mrspoonsi writes: New York City announced today it has picked the companies that will deliver the technology behind its deployment of free, gigabit Wi-Fi to pay phone stations throughout the city. The LinkNYC stations will also include charging outlets, touchscreen displays that interface with city services, and free U.S. calling. It will be funded through advertising. Construction will begin in 2015, and officials expect up to 10,000 stations to be installed before it's done.

66 of 106 comments (clear)

  1. expect verizon and at&t to sue by alen · · Score: 4, Interesting

    NYC is taking away their data overages money

    1. Re:expect verizon and at&t to sue by peragrin · · Score: 4, Informative

      NYC doubles T-mobile bandwidth and cell spots in one shot.

      T mobile has wifi calling. Verizon and AT&T do not.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    2. Re:expect verizon and at&t to sue by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 1

      In a real emergency, you need Facebook, not 911.

      --
      Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
  2. There are still any payphones to replace ? by Crashmarik · · Score: 2

    I haven't seen a payphone on the streets in years.
    The last time I saw one was in Penn Station

    1. Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? by Scutter · · Score: 1

      I love their fries.

      --

      "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
    2. Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I haven't seen a payphone on the streets in years.
      The last time I saw one was in Penn Station

      Take your eyes of your iPhone for 30 seconds and yes, Virginia, you too will see a payphone on the street....

    3. Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? by MightyYar · · Score: 4, Informative

      The boxes are still there - or at least the pedestals. Here's a picture. They are on every block. They sell ad space on them, so they aren't going to pull them down :)

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
    4. Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? by antdude · · Score: 1

      And there are people fixing these payphones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... ...

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
    5. Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? by ArcadeMan · · Score: 1

      There's a street?

      --
      Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
    6. Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? by operator_error · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That YouTube video points out each cellphone currently generates $40 - 60K annually in services. Also, it says the most valuable asset that these units offer is the pre-existing infrastructure of power and telecommunication cables. They're not going anywhere, although collecting coins to complete phone calls might not happen much longer.

    7. Re:There are still any payphones to replace ? by MightyYar · · Score: 1

      They have AC power. Since these things are spaced at roughly 250ft, they don't all need to be connected to gigabit. I'm sure they could work out some kind of a mesh network. On the other hand, regular WiFi is very saturated in NYC. I wish them luck.

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  3. Gigabit wifi? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

    What exactly is gigabit wifi and what devices support it?

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    1. Re:Gigabit wifi? by Charliemopps · · Score: 1

      Google is your friend:
      http://www.newegg.com/Product/...

    2. Re:Gigabit wifi? by Buck+Feta · · Score: 1

      Google is your friend: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...

      And the second part of ArchieBunker's question: what devices support it? No smartphone does anything close to a gig. Google is your friend too.

      --
      I am Audience.
    3. Re:Gigabit wifi? by seinman · · Score: 1

      The iPhone 6 and 6+ support 802.11ac. Now, whether or not they can max out that speed is another story, but they do support the standard. I don't think the point is that any one device would use gigabit speeds, but if the router and backhaul do, then you could have 10 phones each sharing it and still getting 100 mbps each, minus overhead of course.

    4. Re: Gigabit wifi? by Buck+Feta · · Score: 1

      802.11ac does not mean "1 Gb/s". Clients are only required to receive 1 spatial stream. This is the case with every smartphone I know of, including the iPhone 6, which does a theoretical 433 Mb/s.

      --
      I am Audience.
  4. Tardis by badford · · Score: 2

    please paint at least one like a Dr. Who Police Call Box

    --
    -badford
  5. My guess? by mariox19 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They're doing it to spy on people.

    --

    quiquid id est, timeo puellas et oscula dantes.

    1. Re:My guess? by RussR42 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sorry, it's actually an elaborate plot by Lex Luthor to delay Superman with internet cat videos every time he goes to change.

    2. Re:My guess? by Adriax · · Score: 1

      Not always about illegal shit.

      Local upstart gaining too much traction at the polls with irrelevant shit like doing what the peons want them to? Have an intern track his movements through the AP access logs and find a pattern to exploit. Take a cameraman, and an actor, and Oh My Gosh, is that your opponent groping random busty pedestrians on 42 avenue?

      Yeah it's all possible without the APs, but this would be cheaper and easier. Doesn't require hiring a person to shadow them, someone who could make a mistake, get caught, or confess. And the location search is easily passed off as an effective tool for catching pedophile kidnappers.

      --
      I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
    3. Re:My guess? by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      I'd also add that it's easier if the city runs them to shut them down in the event that it becomes necessary "for public safety."

    4. Re:My guess? by operator_error · · Score: 1

      That's a feature, not a bug. Oh wait.

    5. Re:My guess? by CodeReign · · Score: 1

      Eh, people tracking isn't "evil" but as far as I know the iPhone 6 sends out fake MAC addresses anyway so it'll fail unless you're connected.

    6. Re:My guess? by Type44Q · · Score: 1

      people tracking isn't "evil"

      You state that as if it was a foregone conclusion: It isn't.

  6. Municipal WiFi by sheddd · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Can be a lot cheaper than other ways of spying; Associate a person with wireless MAC's or shudder their Facebook account and you've got NSA class intel, and better location data.

    1. Re:Municipal WiFi by NotInHere · · Score: 1

      First, the MAC is nothing fixed (unlike IMEI which is pretty much fixed by closed-down driver software), and second, WiFi APs are far more cheaper in buying and getting a license to send than 3G or LTE masts. The only solution for our internet needs is a dense mesh of APs, whether its WiFi or LTE. But as I've said, WiFi is cheaper and far more open than mobile connections.

      "NSA class intel" is not exactly the case: if people use end-to-end encryption, the WiFi owner only sees which website I visit, but not which page on the website. Giving access to people's data to everybody and not just NSA, is like giving weapons to everybody and not just the state. Wasn't this something you americans like?

    2. Re:Municipal WiFi by sheddd · · Score: 2

      You make good points... Encryption hopefully works as I've implemented for me :) I went to a wifi radio mfg event for resellers recently and some of the resellers were really concerned that Apple's MAC randomization (which doesn't really work yet) was going to hurt their location tracking abilities... It's not terribly hard to figure out I surf with a device with a certain mac address... and many of these muni wifi systems require you to login... directly, thru google, thru Facebook, etc before you get access... I love free WiFi but I'm cynical, and I think some muni's are doing bad things; I wouldn't be surprised if some are doing automated MITM attacks.

    3. Re:Municipal WiFi by NotInHere · · Score: 3

      Yes, I also hate "free" WiFi where you have to login first, or install some stupid app. It should just simply work without all that.

    4. Re:Municipal WiFi by nine-times · · Score: 1

      If you're using SSL, then the only thing that can be ascertained is which sites you visited, but not what you did on those sites or even what pages you viewed. I would advise being careful about any private information over the Internet without SSL anyway. If that's not satisfying, set up a VPN tunnel back to your home Internet connection, or pay for a VPN service, and then they can snoop all day and only know that you had an encrypted channel to some VPN endpoint. VPN is a good idea whenever using a public Internet service, since not all sites are encrypted and you don't really know who you're connecting to.

    5. Re:Municipal WiFi by NotInHere · · Score: 1

      VPN is a good idea whenever using a public Internet service, since not all sites are encrypted and you don't really know who you're connecting to.

      And you know your VPN better? You know and trust every of the stations appearing on the traceroute list when run on your VPN-ed network interface?

    6. Re:Municipal WiFi by nine-times · · Score: 2

      Well I meant something specific there, in that there are hacking schemes that consist of setting up public wifi specifically to capture unencrypted traffic. Just for example, if your local coffeeshop has a wifi network called "Coffee WiFi", then I can basically go sit in the coffeeshop with a mobile hotspot and my wifi and create a network with the same name. If I really want to be thorough, I might be able to locate their wireless device and pull the plug, and set the password on my network to be the same as theirs.

      With a pretty simple setup, I can capture all the data coming through, but still pass the traffic through to the real sites on the Internet while storing all unencrypted traffic for any information that I might be interested in, as long as it's not using SSL. It's a pretty simple MITM (man-in-the-middle) attack.

      Of course, it's possible to have a MITM attack anywhere, but it tends to be substantially more difficult elsewhere. Public WiFi is potentially very easy.

    7. Re:Municipal WiFi by petermgreen · · Score: 2

      Ideally one would use solidly authenticated end to end encryption for everything but that just isn't practical. The best you get is weakly authenticated encryption (ssl/tls) and often you don't even get that.

      Given the choice of trusting a typical free wifi deployment (e.g. a radio link that is either totally unencrypted or encrypted with a password that is likely known to any attacker who puts in a moderate ammound of effort) and trusting an established fixed line IP or hosting provider I would consider the latter a much lower risk of having passwords etc stolen.

      Of course if you believe you are likely to be tracked by the spooks that's a whole different ballgame.

      --
      note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
    8. Re:Municipal WiFi by NotInHere · · Score: 1

      Getting access to the wire should be only the first step of a successful MITM, but yes the WiFi attack is the easiest if you know your target.

    9. Re:Municipal WiFi by q4Fry · · Score: 1

      I love free WiFi but I'm cynical, and I think some muni's are doing bad things; I wouldn't be surprised if some are doing automated MITM attacks.

      I'm wondering (Can /. tell me?) whether some bad actor can just set up a hotspot with the same SSID as the NYC pylons and MITM any unencrypted traffic for anyone who walks by who has their devices set up to connect to that SSID.

  7. Definitions need work. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I'm willing to bet that "throughout the city" as usual means "Manhattan south of 125th street. Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island don't even have subway stops wired yet.

  8. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by iggymanz · · Score: 3, Informative

    Didn't you get the memo, subsidized phone service for the poor started under Reagon, was expanded under Clinton, and under George W. Bush came to include cell/wireless. google "lifeline" program

  9. Re:Not to be justifiably paranoid, but by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    Usually also everybody else in that area can access the data. Encrypt your connections and live with it.

  10. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by NotInHere · · Score: 1

    I'm not blaming you for not RTFA, but if you did you would find that you actually still can make phone calls with those stations. However, you won't have a handset anymore. Making phone calls will be free.

  11. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by sidthegeek · · Score: 2

    You didn't even read the *summary*, did you? The boxes will support free calls to anywhere in the US.

  12. No gadget required. Or eyes. Or mouth... by denzacar · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.link.nyc/

    Key Features

    24/7 free Internet access with up to gigabit speeds
    Integrated lighting
    Digital displays to provide insight-driven and intelligently programmed advertising & public service announcements
    Android tablet with touch screen display, directional speaker & microphone
    Tactile keypad & Braille lettering, dedicated 911 button, USB charger, headphone jack
    Iconic and durable aluminum construction designed and built in NYC
    Sleek design and decreased footprint to restore sidewalk space and improve visual continuity

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
    1. Re:No gadget required. Or eyes. Or mouth... by nine-times · · Score: 1

      This actually seems pretty nice, especially if you're out-and-about and your cell phone dies (or if you don't have one, for whatever reason). I know I take my cell phone for granted, and it's scary how useless I can become if I don't have access to the Internet.

      It does make me wonder, though, who is providing this gigabit Ethernet? It's a bit shocking how crappy the Internet in NYC can be, and I've seen businesses that are still stuck on DSL because they can't get FIOS, cable, or anything better than DSL without paying something like $1000/month. Maybe if they're stringing gigabit Ethernet throughout the city, they could go ahead and build the Infrastructure out so normal people could have decent Internet.

    2. Re:No gadget required. Or eyes. Or mouth... by jbolden · · Score: 1

      In NYC I can get far better than DSL anywhere for well below $1000 / mo. If those business are willing to send me a list of locations and don't want to play games I'd be happy to fix that.

  13. I don't know, im getting really tired of paying by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

    I don't know, im getting really tired of paying bloated prices because every business uses product makers to fund everything under the sun. I wonder how much money we would save if there product makers cut there advertising budgets by 3/4. Plus, why would I need to use Wi-Fi when I have coverage that I already pay for? What % of a cars price is for the advertising budgets?

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none
  14. Re:Funded with advertising... by rsilvergun · · Score: 1

    Because after 60+ years of cold war fear-mongering Americans are terrified of public works. Google "FEMA Camps" and see how many links are dead serious... :(

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  15. Re:How about some public toilets NYC? by PPH · · Score: 1

    The subway.

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  16. But what about .... by PPH · · Score: 1

    ... Superman?

    --
    Have gnu, will travel.
  17. Does everybody not remember Hurricaine Katrina? by ksemlerK · · Score: 1

    Payphones were the only option to get out for MANY people. No internet, no power, no home phone service. Yet, payphones still worked fine.

    --
    Get your free Dropbox account with 2 GB Free storage!
  18. Not Free... by brian.stinar · · Score: 1

    NYC has a city income tax. They have property taxes. I think it is one of the most heavily taxed places in the United States.

    This. Is. Not. Free.

    1. Re:Not Free... by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      So what you're saying is, NYC is deep in the heart of taxes.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    2. Re:Not Free... by brian.stinar · · Score: 1

      Did you ever read Joseph Conrad's "The Heart of Darkness?" NYC is like that, except instead of darkness, it's taxes.

  19. Re:How about some public toilets NYC? by jonwil · · Score: 1

    Here in Brisbane, there are quite a few public toilets (that is, toilets managed by the local council for the benefit of the public). Not just in the CBD but also in public parks and areas all over the the place.

  20. Where in the city are they? by billstewart · · Score: 1

    Mostly Manhattan, with a few in the outer boroughs? Mostly not in poor neighborhoods, where they may not have been as widespread, and they got taken out earliest because of the War On Politically Incorrect Drugs?

    --

    Bill Stewart
    New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
  21. ALSO KNOWN AS SURVEILLANCE by Latinhypercube · · Score: 1, Insightful

    YES, THEY WILL LOG EVERY SINGLE PHONE THAT PINGS THE WIFI, CITY WIDE Fuck New York. It's so over. One you have a shit for brains tourist like Taylor $wift singing for your city your are FUCKED

  22. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    If that was the case then why mention it?

    If it was through an app then that's already covered by wifi.

    You're an idiot.

  23. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by cdrudge · · Score: 1

    What difference does it make if a low income family saves $10 on POTS or $10 on a cell phone? It's not like that $10 is getting them an unlimited data plan and a top of the line phone.

  24. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

    I guess you did not hear about the VOIP phones they are going to put in those kiosks that offer free calling....

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  25. Re:How about some public toilets NYC? by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

    We have them also in my town. In big cities public restrooms have had issues vandalism. I am sure they have those issues in small towns as well but it seems to be a bigger issues in the larger cities vs my town of around 200,000 people.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  26. Re:Funded with advertising... by LWATCDR · · Score: 1

    You do understand that only a tiny percentage of people believe the FEMA Camps type sites.
    That is a real problem with the internet. It is impossible to find any idea so crazy that no one will embrace it as truth.

    --
    See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
  27. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by jbolden · · Score: 1

    There are low cost phone shops all over New York city. They have a nice mixture of 1st world culture with premium prepaid shops and 3rd world culture with cheap phones being sold out of dedicated stores. For $40 you can get a phone.

  28. How the hell did NYC by kilodelta · · Score: 1

    Get Verizon to just give them the pay phone booths? If we had such a thing in Providence I could get out public WiFi net up and running - because many phone booths had power too. Now you're lucky if you can find a pay phone at all in this city.

  29. Technology evolution by Carnivore24 · · Score: 1

    Cell phones will be replaced with WiFi.

    1. Re:Technology evolution by Carnivore24 · · Score: 1

      Cell phone towers will be replaced.

  30. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by Shatrat · · Score: 1

    Or the Connect America Fund, which subsidizes rural telecom buildouts. Rural areas being predominately poor and expensive to reach.

    --
    09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
  31. Net Neutrality by Tokolosh · · Score: 1

    This will be the real test.

    Modify or examine packets?
    Block ports?
    Throttle based on destination, content, protocol or port?
    Gather metadata or otherwise log?
    Provide data to 3-letter agencies without warrant?

    --
    Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
  32. lots of luck with that by k6mfw · · Score: 1

    Reminds me of free wifi by Google in Mountain View, slower than dialup. But I occasionally use it to test Ubiquiti long haul products.

    --
    mfwright@batnet.com
  33. Re:Wifi what about the poor saps by iggymanz · · Score: 1

    1. top of the line phone?, who needs one? not me. your question makes no sense. irrelevant.
    2. I pay $20 a month to provider with rule that I use free wifi when available for cell calls (they have servers to tie to that) and internet access, it goes to tmobile otherwise. been using them for over a year. $10 would be half of that, assuming your $10 a month a valid number