NYC Parks to Receive Free WiFi, with a Catch

Word has spread around NYC that city parks will be offering park-goers free WiFi starting next year. So next summer, people can come out to Central or Union Square Park, enjoy some fresh air and getting a little work done instead of being chained to a Starbucks. Sounds like a good deal right? It is sort of.

According to the New York Post, cable providers Time Warner and Cablevision has entered into a deal with the city to provide 32 parks in the city with Wifi — a $10 million dollar undertaking. There is a course, a catch. Park WiFi will only be free for three 10 minute sessions…a month. After a user’s time runs out, they can expect to dole out $.99 a day for subsequent usage. So what are Cablevision and Time Warner receiving in return for their “generous” offer? They get to renew their cable-television franchises for 10 years.

As news of  the impending deal broke, some people were up in arms.

“It’s pure bait-and-switch,” said Dana Spiegel, head of NYCwireless, a nonprofit group that has helped set up free WiFi at Bryant, Madison Square and a half-dozen other public parks.

The city however, feels otherwise.

“We think we’ve done a pretty good job in negotiating some pretty creative stuff in this franchise agreement,” said Bruce Regal, the city’s point person in the talks. “Overall, it’s a fine package.”

In addition to the WiFi setup, the cable providers have signed on to provide NYC with over “$30 million in new upgrades to the city’s communications infrastructure and to increase the number of Public, Educational and Government (PEG) Channels available on their systems to 17 from nine.” Time Warner will also be setting up 40 broadband access centers in local neighborhoods, while Cablevision will team with the Department of Education for the creation of media centers in public schools.

While there is still quite a bit of red tape to cut through, it looks as if the deal will go through. In the meantime, the Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications is still working to figure out the logistics of how the WiFi will be setup.

About the Author
Sherri is a freelance writer that has a love of all things fun and geeky including gadgets, gaming, anime, and comics. When she isn't writing or out on the town living it up, she loves doing 10-12 hour marathon sessions on her Xbox 360 or one of her older consoles. It's not an addiction, it's a way of life!
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