Free WiFi, Calling Kiosks Coming to Center City
Soon, residents and visitors to Center City and surrounding areas will have places to access WiFi, charge their phones, and make domestic phone calls, all for free. LinkPHL kiosks, provided by Intersection, a smart cities technology and media company, will be installed across Philadelphia. There will be over 100 when all is said and done.
The Link kiosks will offer WiFi, domestic calls, and charging ports – all free and paid for by advertising.
“LinkPHL will be an investment in Philadelphia’s future, creating 21st century infrastructure in the heart of the city,” Mayor Jim Kenney told NBC10. “But more importantly, the kiosks will provide the sort of modern services that our residents and visitors need as they work and play in the city — at no cost to taxpayers.” The kiosks, called Links, have been approved for installation from the City’s Art Commission and the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems.
According to NBC, “LinkPHL offers device charging from two integrated USB quick-charge ports, free phone calls across the United States, direct 911 emergency calling, a touchscreen tablet for access to city services, information on city events, art and culture, in addition to high-speed, secure access to Wi-Fi that is 100x faster than average public Wi-Fi and LTE on mobile devices.”
The Links are paid for through advertising in the kiosks, so there is no cost to the city or to the users. In fact, not only will advertising take care of the costs of building, installation, maintenance and upgrades, the advertising is expected to generate millions in revenue, a guaranteed $450,000 of which will annually come back to the city of Philadelphia. According to city officials, the money will go towards funding public services.
Over a thousand Link kiosks have already been installed in New York City to great success and the program is spreading across the UK. It’s anticipated that thousands more kiosks will be created in cities across the globe in the next few years.
