Google Takes Over NYC's Free WiFi Project

dkatana writes: Google's new Smart Cities venture Sidewalk Labs announced the purchase of Intersection, the new company behind the LinkNYC project. nGoogle wants to speed up the developing of free internet access to New York residents and visitors, as a way to gather more information about their activities. Users of the pylons will provide the company invaluable data about their habits, places they visit, and browsing activity.

As part of the original LinkNYC plan, Intersection is scheduled to start deploying the new ad-supported, locally manufactured, WiFi 'pylons' this fall, reaching all five boroughs of the city. It will be the largest and fastest free municipal WiFi system in the world. After that, the company plans to start rolling out similar initiatives in other U.S. cities, but details have not been made public yet.

Comments

Re:I hope it rolls out in more cities

[psergiu]

1) Random BSSID generator at every reconnect.

2) In fact, i would very much like to see relevant & useful ads. Right now, almost none of the ads i see are useful for me.
Example: I bought a car last month. Now half of my ads are about car sales. Thank you very much - i already have the car, i don't need another. I would like to see ads about accessories and add-ons for my new car. But noooo. New cars only.

I wish there was a page in the Google profile settings where you can enter keywords for the ad engine so the displayed ads are for something useful i could really click on. (claiming prior art)

Continuing the car example - i'll happily tell Google about my cars, the mileage & last service dates - i would not mind seeing ads about: Your 20xx Kia needs a oil change in the next 2 weeks, how about going to "Nearby Service Company" - oil change & tire rotation for only $number using coupon code GOOGLEOWNSYOU