The nation’s largest public Wi-Fi network launched in Harlem recently, which will bring free outdoor Internet access to thousands of residents and visitors between 110th and 120th Streets and Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Madison Avenue. This is the first phase, and access will increase to the north through May, when the zone will stretch as far as 138th Street.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it’s the latest step in creating a comprehensive Wi-Fi zone across all five boroughs. Tech advocates also praised the newest effort to increase Internet access, saying that a wireless Big Apple is key to sustaining the city’s future. It is predicted that Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio will continue Bloomberg’s Wi-Fi push.
The privately-funded initiative will give 80,000 residents free wireless Internet access for at least five years. Financier Glenn Fuhrman, who funded the Harlem Wi-Fi zone with his wife Amanda, donating $2 million to the city to pay for the wiring, said there is strong interest from investors.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Fuhrman told the Daily News. “I’ve never done anything before where the mayor came to say thank you in person.” He said he chose Harlem because he knew the area from his philanthropic work with the Harlem Children’s Zone, a hugely respected non-profit in the area.
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