Google to Provide Free Wi-Fi for NYC Neighborhood

Photo by Robert Miller

What spans 13 blocks and gives a New York City neighborhood free access to the internet?

A new Wi-Fi network in Chelsea built by Google, according to CNNMoney.

There was a joint press conference Tuesday hosted by Google, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Senator Charles Schumer to announce the free Wi-Fi service Google is providing for the neighborhood in which its local headquarters is located.

Google is also providing indoor coverage for Chelsea’s public housing. It cost a total of $115,000 to install the equipment necessary to create the Wi-Fi network and it will cost $45,000 a year to maintain it. This isn’t the first time Google has done this. Mountain View, Calif., where Google’s headquarters is located, has received its own free Wi-Fi courtesy of Google as well.

It is important to note, however, that Chelsea’s Wi-Fi is not related to Google’s other project, Google Fiber. Though the high-speed broadband service has been introduced in Kansas City, Kan. and Kansas City, Mo., a Google spokesman told Mashable that they weren’t planning on expanding Google Fiber to New York City.

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