With 56% of New York City households lacking home and mobile broadband connections, a consortium is taking steps to provide mobile access at least through sidewalk kiosks, the latest of which include 5G.
The kiosks, called Link5G, also offer free Wi-Fi access, a built-in tablet for accessing maps and other resources including phone connectivity, USB ports for charging mobile devices, a headphone jack and the ability to make 911 calls button. Some also include two 55-inch digital signage screens that provide the city with advertising revenue to help pay for the kiosks. Perhaps the most interesting feature, though, is the 5G cellular antenna near the top of the 32-foot structure.
While other services supported by the kiosks are free to the public, 5G has a maximum theoretical speed of 20Gbps and is only available to paying customers of commercial wireless carriers who have been granted access to 5G antennas.
Spreading 2,000 Link5G towers across New York City’s five boroughs — Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island — will help solve a major problem for the fastest 5G services: the frequencies to support them Doesn’t penetrate walls well, and coverage is close to line of sight. Lower 5G frequencies are better able to get through these obstacles, but their speeds are closer to what 4G offers, with a maximum theoretical speed of 1.5Gbps. The sheer number of these small cell towers will help expand 5G coverage.
The new kiosks are part of a project called LinkNYC, which is overseen by a joint venture called CityBridge between digital display provider Intersection and wireless infrastructure provider ZenFi Networks. Since 2016, LinkNYC has installed 1,900 first-generation kiosks, known simply as Links, and has begun deploying 2,000 second-generation Link5G. The Link is just 11 feet tall and features similar equipment to the Link 5G, but without 5G support.
CityBridge worked with wireless carriers and Antenna Design, the design firm behind the original Link kiosks, to meet technical and aesthetic requirements. Various features within the tower support devices manufactured by vendors such as Ruckus, Fujitsu, Samsung, Nokia and Ericsson.
City residents may object to these structures – reminiscent of giant cotton swabs – because they dot the streetscape and are three stories high, but height is unavoidable. The minimum allowable transmitter height is 19.5 feet. On top are five antenna brackets, each with a minimum height of 29 inches to meet the required separation between transmitters. The minimum ventilation clearance is 5 inches, and all these clearances add up to 32 feet, which is the height of the Link5G tower being installed.
Building the infrastructure for Link5G kiosks.
The network that supports kiosks is decentralized. Local utility company Con Edison provides power, and dedicated fiber optic cables connect them to Network Edge Configuration (NEC) facilities in each borough’s data center.
From the NEC, traffic is backhauled to two core points of presence, and ZenFi Networks runs a network operations center to monitor the systems within the Link5G kiosks. These NOCs work in conjunction with NOCs operated by each operator that uses Link5G to provide cellular services.
The kiosks were installed by CityBridge and its partner ZenFi Networks, while also utilizing a number of local suppliers. ZenFi Networks also provides the fiber optic infrastructure that enables Link5G kiosks to provide free Wi-Fi and other services to the public.
This backbone fiber network also makes it easier and cheaper for ISPs to extend service to neighborhoods throughout the city, encouraging competition in places with limited options — a common problem for most New Yorkers. Hopefully, more competition might lead to faster speeds, better reliability, and better prices.
The user walks up and logs in.
Wireless devices within range of first-generation kiosks can see two different SSID networks, LinkNYC Free Wi-Fi and LinkNYC Private. The private network is encrypted, but only available on Apple devices running iOS 7 or later with Hotspot 2.0 enabled.
First-time users can connect directly to the free Wi-Fi, but to use the private network they must first provide their email address and download their network profile. Devices using iOS 7 through iOS 11.2 will be prompted to download their configuration files. Devices using iOS 11.3 or later will not be prompted but can manually download their configuration files from the LinkNYC website. Hotspot 2.0 leverages enterprise-grade Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA2) security to encrypt traffic and 802.1x authentication, using EAP-TLS for certificate-based mutual authentication of clients and networks. Afterwards, whenever devices come into range of Link5G, they should automatically connect to the dedicated Wi-Fi.
Areas designated by the City as lacking other broadband options, with low median resident income, high pedestrian traffic, and without existing LinkNYC infrastructure will be prioritized for new LinkNYC kiosks.