New York’s Central Park to go wireless

The city of New York is to extend free wireless internet access to the 843 acres of Central Park, as well as other public access areas, the BBC reports.

Officials reckon the system will be operational by the summer, allowing native New Yorkers and visitors alike to escape into the park and use their laptops and PDAs outdoors.

According to the city’s Parks Department, by July there will be eight wireless hotspots offering coverage of much of Central Park, where thousands of locals and tourists get out into the green to eat lunch or escape from the mayhem of Manhattan; the park has over 25 million visitors per year.

Free wireless connection has been trialled and is already available in other parts of New York, such as mid-town Bryant Park and Tompkins Square Park in East Village.

The free access will be funded by corporate sponsorship and could serve as a blueprint for other, more ambitious projects in other US cities.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4988792.stm