Wi-Fi kiosks coming soon to a former pay phone near you

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The citywide network of Wi-Fi stations known as LinkNYC begins its $200 million rollout Tuesday with the unveiling of two "links," or kiosks, on Third Avenue.

The 9.5-foot-tall kiosks—one on East 15th Street, the other on East 17th Street—won't be functional but they will give the public its first view of the system that will be replacing every pay phone in the city over the next four years.

Part of Mayor Bill de Blasio's plans for narrowing the digital divide, the network will provide free high-speed Internet service for anyone within 150-feet—the minimum range of the signals—of a kiosk.

About 10 links going up Third Avenue will begin providing gigabit-speed Wi-Fi over the next few weeks, according to CityBridge, a consortium thatwon the city's franchise contract in 2014. Advertising on the kiosks will support the gigabit-speed Internet service.

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