FileHippo News

The latest software and tech news

The next time you are walking the streets of New York City you’ll find yourself able to connect online via free city-wide WiFi. The... Gowex Blankets NYC With Free WiFi

The next time you are walking the streets of New York City you’ll find yourself able to connect online via free city-wide WiFi. The service was announced on Tuesday courtesy of Wi-Fi provider Gowex.

Available to residents and tourists alike the service covers a large swatch of the city including Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

To offer such a massive option Gowex installed 1,953-hotspot data points throughout the city, allow for 1-megabit connections via mobile devices.

Gowex Free WiFi

Using the free Gowex network requires users to download a free Wi-Fi app for Google Android or iOS devices. The app allows users to download quicker connections, find alternative hotpots, and even to look up municipal information.

To earn money from its free service Gowex will serve ads and offer cellular networks the ability to offload their data through the Gowex backbone.

If you are willing to pay a fee Gowex can also provide faster speeds over its 1-megabit connection rate.

While the company has launched only in New York City officials are already looking to expand the service into other metropolitan areas in the months ahead.

New York City has become quite the testing ground for free Wi-Fi networks that rely on advertising and data offloading services. Stop by a Van Wagner Communications for example and you can use free Wi-Fi while viewing ads from their partner network.

Even the Wall Street Journal has opened up free WiFi to customers in many parts of the city.

With discussions and plans continuing to point towards a free or low cost national Wi-Fi program it will be interesting to see how the next phase of data connectivity evolves.

Are you willing to connect via a free public network that requires ad viewing to use its services alongside an iOS or Android app?