The 21st Century Is Calling, With Wi-Fi Hot Spots

In the era of smartphones, pay phones look increasingly dumb. Dumb, that is, to everyone but advertisers and pay phone operators, who are happy to place thousands of small billboards at consumer eye level.

That bleak landscape may change significantly. The franchises under which 9,133 phones are operated in 7,302 enclosures on city streets will expire in October. To replace and augment these enclosures, the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio envisions as many as 10,000 “public communications structures.” These kiosks would provide free Wi-Fi service around the clock and at least enough standard telephone service to permit anyone to place a free call to 911 or 311.

“Making these pay phones digitized, 21st-century Wi-Fi hot spots is going to be incredibly exciting for so many New Yorkers who otherwise have a hard time getting access,” said Maya Wiley, counsel to the mayor. She said the new structures had the potential to “level the playing field” for New Yorkers who cannot afford to subscribe to a broadband Internet service at home.