Pay phones — once so vital, and now just a place for weird bacteria to grow — might be useful once again in New York City, if Mayor Bill de Blasio has his way.
On Thursday, de Blasio announced that the city has issued a request for proposals to create internet hot spots out of old pay phone booths, in a bid to bring free Wi-Fi to Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island. This isn't the first time NYC has contemplated turning telephone booths into hot spots, TIME reminds us; Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a pilot project that fizzled out.
"For years, the question was, 'What to do with pay phones?' and now we have an answer," de Blasio said in a statement. "By using a historic part of New York's street fabric, we can significantly enhance public availability of increasingly vital broadband access, invite new and innovative digital services, and increase revenue to the city — all at absolutely no cost to taxpayers."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Right now, 84 percent of pay phone kiosks are controlled by three companies, but their contracts are set to expire this year. De Blasio would like new contracts to be issued for "the installation, operation, and maintenance of up to 10,000 public communication points distributed across the five boroughs." The new and improved booths would not only provide Wi-Fi, but also contain free cell phone charging stations and interactive touch screens with information on local attractions. The city says that the new franchise would produce $17.5 million in annual revenue by the end of June 2026, with potential franchisees including Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
-
The UK-made Storm Shadow missiles Ukraine is using in RussiaThe Explainer Ukraine reportedly deployed the long-range British missiles this week, following a tense meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump
-
Dry skin, begone! 8 products to keep your skin supple while travelingThe Week Recommends Say goodbye to dry and hello to hydration
-
Crossword: October 23, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Google avoids the worst in antitrust rulingSpeed Read A federal judge rejected the government's request to break up Google
-
Supreme Court allows social media age check lawSpeed Read The court refused to intervene in a decision that affirmed a Mississippi law requiring social media users to verify their ages
-
Nvidia hits $4 trillion milestoneSpeed Read The success of the chipmaker has been buoyed by demand for artificial intelligence
-
X CEO Yaccarino quits after two yearsSpeed Read Elon Musk hired Linda Yaccarino to run X in 2023
-
Musk chatbot Grok praises Hitler on XSpeed Read Grok made antisemitic comments and referred to itself as 'MechaHitler'
-
Disney, Universal sue AI firm over 'plagiarism'Speed Read The studios say that Midjourney copied characters from their most famous franchises
-
Amazon launches 1st Kuiper internet satellitesSpeed Read The battle of billionaires continues in space
-
Test flight of orbital rocket from Europe explodesSpeed Read Isar Aerospace conducted the first test flight of the Spectrum orbital rocket, which crashed after takeoff
