[Techtaffy Newsdesk]
Google and the Chelsea Improvement Company have partnered to provide free public WiFi internet access in southwest Chelsea, which will provide free Internet access to hundreds of thousands of people each year. It will become the first wired neighborhood in Manhattan and the largest contiguous WiFi network in New York City.
Michael Bloomberg (Mayor, New York City): New York is determined to become the world’s leading digital city, and universal access to high-speed Internet is one the core building blocks of that vision. Thanks to Google, free WiFi across this part of Chelsea takes us another step closer to that goal.
Free WiFi is now available outdoors, roughly between Gansevoort St. and 19 St. from 8th Ave to the West Side Highway, as well as the neighborhood’s public spaces, including the Chelsea Triangle, 14th Street Park, and Gansevoort Plaza. The Chelsea WiFi Network was designed and installed by Sky-Packets.
The Chelsea Improvement Company is a nonprofit neighborhood redevelopment corporation that seeks to improve the day-to-day lives of the people who live, work, and visit southwest Chelsea.
Google’s sponsorship paid for the capital cost of the network, which has been a year and a half in the making, and uses 29 separate Wi-Fi radios.