This comes to us from the New York Times by way of Mayor Bill de Blasio's office. Afterwards are comments by the Borough Presidents of the five boroughs.
If a proposal from Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration is approved as expectedon Wednesday, New York will soon take a step forward into the digital age. A constellation of Wi-Fi hot spots offering free high-speed Internet access will emerge across the city, on sidewalks where thousands of all-but-defunct pay phones now stand.
The city’s Franchise and Concession Review Committee is expected to vote to give the contract to a consortium that includes Qualcomm and Titan, an outdoor-advertising company. The $200 million project, called LinkNYC, would install up to 10,000 digital kiosks over the next 12 to 15 years, providing Wi-Fi at speeds ranging from 100 megabits per second to 1 gigabit per second. The kiosks, which will also offer free domestic, 911 and 311 calls, are to be supported by advertising and generate at least $500 million in revenue for the city.
The mayor’s office, never known to underplay a good thing, announced this project with great fanfare. But let’s be clear about what these are — not the arrival of digital nirvana, but a pretty impressive collection of advertising kiosks with Wi-Fi attached, great for tourists and residents who are able to bring their smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices within 150 feet of them.
This is well beyond what other cities have tried. Comptroller Scott Stringer deserves credit for trying to make the good-sounding deal better, by warning that inequality is built into the contract. That is, most of the new kiosks with the highest speeds will be concentrated in Manhattan. The Bronx and Staten Island will be home to many of the slower kiosks, which are still blazingly fast by current standards of available Wi-Fi.
Mr. de Blasio’s office promises not to overlook poorer neighborhoods as the program expands. And it says that LinkNYC revenue will provide millions of dollars for as-yet-unspecified projects to improve digital access across the city. The administration should make sure to upgrade the phone kiosks in every corner of the city — bringing them up to speed, literally — as the program advances.
STATEMENTS FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENTS ADAMS, BREWER, DIAZ, KATZ AND ODDO ON THEIR FCRC VOTE TO EXPAND PUBLIC WIFI ACCESS IN NEW YORK CITY
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.: “Throughout this process my office, my colleagues in the other boroughs and Comptroller Scott Stringer raised serious concerns about the proposed ‘LinkNYC’ WiFi program. We are grateful to this administration, especially the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, for listening to our concerns and working with our offices to make this project more equitable. Thanks to our advocacy, the city has agreed to expand higher speed WiFi access throughout the five boroughs and to implement a 10 kiosk solar pilot program in The Bronx, among other concessions. Specifically, The Bronx will receive an additional 240 one-Gbps kiosk in the first four years of the eight year franchise agreement. Moreover, by decoupling advertising and the one-Gbps speeds, a greater percentage of the total number of Bronx kiosks will now have 1-Gbps speeds at the end of the eight years. From the time this was first proposed my office has been concerned that ‘LinkNYC’ would meet appropriate standards of equity and resilience, and issued a report outlining those concerns. Our negotiations on this issue have certainly helped to create a better system for the entire city. I commend my colleagues for their efforts on this issue. This shows that each of our boroughs, united in a cause, can affect positive change for our constituents.”
Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams: “Through negotiation with City Hall and DoITT, as well as the important collaboration between all five borough presidents, we have arrived at a stronger agreement that will better ensure equity in the expansion of free municipal WiFi. Our voices were heard on critical issues such as the need to enhance community input on the siting of Wi-Fi kiosks, as well as on investing revenue from the deal into infrastructure improvements that will help our City close the digital divide for Brooklynites and all New Yorkers. Thanks to the collaboration of my partners in government, this is a deal I can be proud to support.”
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer: “Today’s agreement meets the goals that I and the other Borough Presidents were fighting for: community input on the siting of WiFi kiosks and more high-speed hotspots in northern Manhattan and the other boroughs. These improvements to the original proposal make it a plan worth voting for. I’m glad that, working together, we could deliver this win for all New Yorkers.”
Queens Borough President Melinda Katz: “It’s great news that free, citywide public WiFi is on the way. Free public Internet is more than just a leisurely perk, it's a way to fairly bridge the Digital Divide already predisposed to income inequality. City Hall has sufficiently addressed our concerns in an MOU that formalizes a siting agreement, a plan to ensure equitable access and a process for community input. I thank the administration for recognizing the potential in Queens and taking effective steps to ensure our fair share and facilitate our economic growth. I also thank Comptroller Stringer for uniting with the Borough Presidents on this issue.”
Staten Island Borough President James Oddo: “We have carefully gone through this process with the goal of ensuring that city taxpayers get the best deal possible, as well as the fastest and most accessible WiFi access. Additionally, we have been careful to build in protections, which guarantee that each borough's public officials play an important role in the siting of these units, and by working diligently with my colleagues, the comptroller, and the Administration we have achieved that. Going forward, we will continue to work with the Administration and CityBridge to ensure Staten Island receives the best possible WiFi service and that the units are sited in appropriate locations.”
STATEMENT BY NEW YORK CITY COMPTROLLER SCOTT M. STRINGER ON LinkNYC
LinkNYC’s proposal to put high speed WiFi kiosks throughout the City will not by itself eliminate the digital divide, but marks an important step toward bridging that gap. Just as the subways powered New York’s growth in the 20th century, high-speed broadband will drive our City’s economic competitiveness in the 21st century — and we need to make sure all our neighborhoods have the tools to meet that future.
That’s why I am happy to vote yes on the LinkNYC proposal before the Franchise and Concession Review Committee today.
We took a good contract and we made it better. I want to thank the Administration and Borough Presidents for their diligence and responsiveness in working to make this contract the best that it can be.
Together we were able to ensure the new WiFi system will:
- Bring greater equity to boroughs outside Manhattan through a more balanced distribution of 1 gigabit speeds;
- Enshrine community consultation in the franchise agreement to ensure meaningful input on the siting of kiosks;
- Strengthen language about tech upgrades during the length of the contract to ensure that New Yorkers continually benefit from cutting-edge security and software upgrades; and
- Provide for the regular publication of data to ensure accountability, transparency and performance.
As the franchise is implemented, I will continue to use my office’s contract oversight and audit authority to ensure that CityBridge fulfills its promises of fast, free WiFi across all five boroughs.
- See more at: http://comptroller.nyc.gov/newsroom/statement-by-nyc-comptroller-scott-m-stringer-on-linknyc/#sthash.2GYZUQll.dpuf
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