After going the way of the dinosaur, New York City’s payphone booths are getting a reprieve.
LinkNYC will introduce a network of kiosks that have free services like high-speed Internet, web browsing, cellphone charging, and calls to anywhere in the country, the New York Daily News reports.
At a cost of $200 million (not from taxpayers), the kiosks will come to downtown and northern Manhattan, the South Bronx, Jamaica, Flatbush Avenue, and St. George.
The stations will be able to support hundreds of users connecting to the Wi-Fi in up to a 400-foot radius. Those using the service can join an encrypted private network that doesn’t track them while browsing. There’s also the option of clearing your session once you’re done. However, it isn’t recommended to access bank accounts over the public networks.
