After some early controversy, the LinkNYC project is gaining a foothold. The installation of Wi-Fi kiosks across the city—582 and counting—has attracted more and more users during the past few months.

A comparison of typical periods from last month and September reflects the change. Wi-Fi sessions on LinkNYC kiosks were 51% higher during the week of Jan. 9 than during the week of Sept. 26. Over that time frame, New Yorkers logged more than 5.4 million hours on the free Wi-Fi.

The Links kiosks, which replaced pay phones scattered throughout the city, provide free Wi-Fi, phone calls and USB charging. Originally internet browsing services were available via each kiosk's built-in tablet. The internet service proved to be problematic, though, as people complained that homeless and other users were monopolizing the kiosks, often using the tablets to view pornography. The tablets were disabled in mid-September, and the kiosks received a software update.

Since the reboot, the number of people using the Wi-Fi has surged, although the figures are not comparable to earlier data. A LinkNYC spokeswoman said the improved numbers reflect more accurate usage statistics following the software update. The number of sessions per week has increased since the software tweak.

The kiosks are making an economic impact on the city. LinkNYC's owner, CityBridge—a consortium of four firms including Qualcomm—estimates that the program created 350 direct full-time jobs last year, plus 265 jobs coming via multiplier effects. Those 615 workers took home $68.4 million in income, creating $128.9 million in economic output—a 74% increase from 2015. It's a small portion of the city's more than $1 trillion in annual economic activity, but LinkNYC is growing and providing access to the internet for some who might not otherwise get it.

After some early controversy, the LinkNYC project is gaining a foothold. The installation of Wi-Fi kiosks across the city—582 and counting—has attracted more and more users during the past few months.

A comparison of typical periods from last month and September reflects the change. Wi-Fi sessions on LinkNYC kiosks were 51% higher during the week of Jan. 9 than during the week of Sept. 26. Over that time frame, New Yorkers logged more than 5.4 million hours on the free Wi-Fi.

The Links kiosks, which replaced pay phones scattered throughout the city, provide free Wi-Fi, phone calls and USB charging. Originally internet browsing services were available via each kiosk's built-in tablet. The internet service proved to be problematic, though, as people complained that homeless and other users were monopolizing the kiosks, often using the tablets to view pornography. The tablets were disabled in mid-September, and the kiosks received a software update.

Since the reboot, the number of people using the Wi-Fi has surged, although the figures are not comparable to earlier data. A LinkNYC spokeswoman said the improved numbers reflect more accurate usage statistics following the software update. The number of sessions per week has increased since the software tweak.

The kiosks are making an economic impact on the city. LinkNYC's owner, CityBridge—a consortium of four firms including Qualcomm—estimates that the program created 350 direct full-time jobs last year, plus 265 jobs coming via multiplier effects. Those 615 workers took home $68.4 million in income, creating $128.9 million in economic output—a 74% increase from 2015. It's a small portion of the city's more than $1 trillion in annual economic activity, but LinkNYC is growing and providing access to the internet for some who might not otherwise get it.

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