Google rolls out free Wi-Fi in Manhattan

Google has announced that it will start to offer free Wi-Fi in some parts of the Manhattan area of New York.

The search giant will roll out free Wi-Fi in the Southwest Chelsea part of Manhattan. Free Wi-Fi will be available outdoors and in public spaces of the area. The deal comes following Google's decision to build an ultra fast broadband network in Kansas City.

"Each day access to the internet becomes more and more important to finding a good job or getting a good education, and this neighbourhood-wide wireless network will provide that resource to hundreds of thousands," said New York senator Charles Schumer.

"This cutting edge wireless network will help to cement New York's reputation as a leader in technological development, will help the city continue to attract business and grow our booming Silicon Alley, and will take us one step closer to our goal of becoming the most well connected city in America."

The free Wi-Fi offer comes in a partnership with the Chelsea Improvement Company, New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, and the New York Department of Information Technology and Telecommunication. The operation will be the largest free public Wi-Fi offering in the state of New York.

Google operates its New York offices in the Chelsea area where the free Wi-Fi will be located. The company offers a similar service in Mountain View, California where its main headquarters is based.

The search giant also opened up a fibre optic broadband network in Kansas City two years ago. Google's pay-to-use network offers 1Gbit/s connection speeds to users. The company has said it would like to roll out similar networks to other cities in the future.

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• Topics
• Public Sector
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• Google
• WiFi
• broadband