LinkNYC provides fast and free public Wi-Fi to New Yorkers, small businesses, and visitors. The program launched in 2015 to replace public pay phones with kiosks that offer free calling, mobile device charging, and access to 911 and 311 – all at no cost to taxpayers. As the program continues to expand throughout the City, we aim to expand broadband access to historically underserved New Yorkers.
What LinkNYC kiosks offer
- 24/7 free encrypted Wi-Fi with up to gigabit speeds
- Free phone calls to anywhere in the U.S.
- Integrated lighting
- Digital displays which exhibit strategic, insight-driven advertisements, and public service announcements
- Tactile keypad with Braille lettering, dedicated 911 button, speaker, microphone, and headphone jack
- USB ports for free mobile device charging
- Video Relay System to provide service to users with disabilities
- Touchscreen Android tablet with access to City services with multi-lingual support
Link5G
Fifth-generation wireless technology, or 5G, must roll out Citywide to enhance cellular connectivity by providing broadband-like speeds on mobile devices for all New Yorkers. The buildout of 5G has already begun on pole tops, rooftops, and other infrastructure in New York City and throughout the country.
The City received approval from the Public Design Commission (PDC) to deploy a new LinkNYC design to expand 5G through the city's existing LinkNYC franchise: Link5G.
Link5G supports all the City's efforts to advance digital equity where it is needed most – in the outer boroughs and above 96th Street in Manhattan – with emphasis on expanding affordable cellular options. This Link5G design will add 5G to the suite of services LinkNYC offers, which currently includes high-speed Wi-Fi, free nationwide calling, device charging, and access to 311 and 911.
Link5G is being installed in neighborhoods across all five boroughs to ensure that New Yorkers have the connectivity they need wherever they live, work, and travel in the city. The kiosks will provide multi-tenant, multi-technology space to expand 5G in every corner of our City.
Link5G Design
The PDC approved the Link5G design in commercial, commercial overlay, and manufacturing zones with digital advertising screens. Although the size of the screen does not change, the structure must be taller in order to adequately provide 5G service. PDC also approved a limited number of installations without digital advertising screens in residential zoning districts and, subject to prior review and approval by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), in historic districts.
The design is as tall as existing street poles and is similar in appearance to existing 5G equipment on street poles. Link5G also allows multiple mobile telecommunications carriers to house equipment in each kiosk, allowing enhanced coverage in an area for customers of several wireless companies.
Commitment to Equity
In 2021, the LinkNYC franchise agreement was amended. It requires CityBridge, LinkNYC's operator, to install 90% of new LinkNYC kiosks in the outer boroughs and above 96th Street in Manhattan. OTI has additionally made a commitment to a new minimum LinkNYC build in neighborhoods with a lack of other broadband options, lower median annual income, lack of existing LinkNYC infrastructure, and high levels of pedestrian and street traffic in these neighborhoods:
- Bronx: Hunts Point and Longwood
- Brooklyn: Bushwick, Brownsville, and Ocean Hill
- Manhattan: Inwood and Washington Heights
- Queens: Rockaway, Jamaica, and Hollis
- Staten Island: Port Richmond, St. George, and Stapleton
Although these areas will be prioritized, each community district in NYC will have LinkNYC kiosks.
Learn more about Link5G
The new structure is comparable in height to most street poles (32 feet) and is consistent with existing LinkNYC kiosks and the previously approved single- and multi-tenant 5G coverings for street poles.
While ninety percent of the new structures will be installed in the outer boroughs and above 96th Street in Manhattan to expand connectivity to underserved communities, every community will have LinkNYC kiosks.
Only one Link5G would be permitted to be installed per block, and only on one side of the street per block. All LinkNYC kiosks must be at least 50 feet apart.
There are dozens of additional siting criteria in place to limit where new structures can be installed to minimize streetscape impacts.
Proposed installations within historic districts are subject to review and approval by LPC.
The City will only consider approval of sites that have been reviewed and approved by all requisite city, state and federal governing bodies, including, but not limited to, the New York State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The same high-speed LinkNYC Wi-Fi, free nationwide calling, device charging, and access to 311 and 911 will be expanded to thousands of locations across the City over the next several years. These areas will also benefit from enhanced 5G networks through multiple cellular carriers.
As thousands of new kiosks would be built to expand 5G, the City's efforts to expand broadband access to New Yorkers will also benefit from the fiber run to each new Link5G. This will improve New Yorkers' access to additional broadband providers and help reduce prices through competition.
Pursuant to their franchise agreements, Mobile Telecommunications franchisees are required to comply with all FCC guidelines related to radio frequency (RF) emissions, and OTI is committed to holding each franchisee to this standard.
The federal government regulates RF emissions as they relate to health or environmental concerns and constrains local governments from applying additional regulations. Read the FCC's guidance and more information about wireless devices and health concerns.