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In addition, prior to September 2016, the tablets of the Links could be used to browse the Internet. There are also concerns with cybercriminals possibly hijacking the Links, or renaming their personal wireless networks to the same name as LinkNYC's network, in order to steal LinkNYC users' data.
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Privacy advocates have stated that the data of LinkNYC users can be collected and used to track users' movements throughout the city. Since the Links' deployment, there have been several concerns about the kiosks' features. The Links are seen as a model for future city builds as part of smart city data pools and infrastructure. Intersection has also installed InLinks in cities across the UK. As of July 2017, there are 920 Links citywide eventually, there will be 7,500 Links installed in the New York metropolitan area, making the system the world's fastest and most expansive. The project brings free, encrypted, gigabit wireless internet coverage to the five boroughs by converting old payphones into Wi-Fi hotspots where free phone calls could also be made. The Links also provide the ability to use calling cards to make international calls, and each Link has one button to call 9-1-1 directly. The most recent competition, in 2014, resulted in the contract being awarded to the CityBridge consortium, which comprises Qualcomm Titan and Control Group, which now make up Intersection and Comark.Īll of the 9.5-foot-tall (2.9 m) Links feature two 55-inch (140 cm) high-definition displays on their sides Android tablet computers for accessing city maps, directions, and services, and making video calls two free USB charging stations for smartphones and a phone allowing free calls to all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The LinkNYC kiosks were devised after the government of New York City held several competitions to replace the payphone system. The Links replace the city's network of 9,000 to 13,000 payphones, a contract for which expired in October 2014. The office of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the plan on November 17, 2014, and the installation of the first kiosks, or "Links," started in late 2015. LinkNYC is the New York City branch of an international infrastructure project to create a network covering several cities with free Wi-Fi service.
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