Cast your mind back to the early 2000s. Payphones were still dominant on the streets, but that was all about to change.
The city’s payphone contract was set to expire in 2014, and the Bloomberg administration wanted to come up with a more modern replacement. So they launched a design competition to “reinvent the payphone.”
Some of the submitted designs riffed on the idea of the payphone booth itself.
Some went in entirely new directions, as platforms for community sensors, measuring rain and pollution.
Ultimately, however, there was nothing binding about this contest, and in 2014, after a change of administration, the design they finally selected was from none of these groups. Instead, the winner was CityBridge, a consortium of technology and advertising companies, including Google, among others.
These kiosks provide free Wi-Fi, a tablet that can be used to access maps, and the ability to make calls.
Unsurprisingly, money was a main reason this design was selected. CityBridge said that their kiosks would bring in over $500 million to the city over a 12-year period.
Unfortunately, the advertising potential wasn’t quite what was promised. The installation of these kiosks started 10 years ago, and they’ve only raised about $120 million.
And, activist groups have raised privacy concerns related to their built-in cameras, and the potential risk of Wi-Fi monitoring.
But at the end of the day, they can still be a lifeline for those without easy access to a phone or the internet.
So what do you think? Is LinkNYC a worthy successor to the payphone?