Selected New York subway stations get free WiFi this summer, as Google and Boingo partner up

In what Boingo is calling the ‘Summer of Free Wi-Fi NYC’, some New York City residents will be benefiting from a signal on the subway.

Boingo provides software and services for Wi-Fi around the world. You’ll recognise its presence in places like airports for starters. From today, Google Offers is working with the company to sponsor free Wi-fi for visitors and New Yorker in the Big Apple for those who just cannot face logging off for even the few minutes they take to get to stations A or C.

Subway stations and around 200 Boingo hotzones across Manhattan will be activated and of course with a partnership like this, Google Offers will likely be presented to users. Not a bad thing if you’re up for a coupon or a bargain nearby.

The wireless networks deployed by Transit Wireless are as follows:

• A, C, E station at Eighth Avenue and West 14th Street
• L station at Eighth Avenue and West 14th Street
• C, E station at Eighth Avenue and West 23rd Street
• 1, 2, 3 station at Seventh Avenue and West 14th Street
• F, M station at Sixth Avenue and West 14th Street
• L station at Sixth Avenue and West 14th Street

So if you’re really in a bind and in need of a connection, you’ll at least know which station you can loiter at while you get things done.

In the UK, the Underground system is seeing some connectivity ahead of the Olympic Games. Virgin Media has the deal to bring signal to the depths of the Tube system, but early tests seem to show that there’s a fair amount of work to be done if that system is to cope with the thousands of passengers who ride the trains every day.

London’s overground trains are also getting free Wi-Fi from The Cloud which is owned by BSkyB. There is hope that this system will extend further outside of the capital.

The Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA) appears to have given this plan its blessing. Jerome Page, director of strategic initiatives says,  “We’re glad our riders will be able to access free Wi-Fi this summer in six subway stations to stay connected while they’re underground. Reliable Wi-Fi is an important benefit for straphangers in New York City subway stations.”

Indeed New Yorkers are bound to love the added opportunity to take up a convenient connection, but as it is called the ‘Summer of Free Wi-Fi’, the networks will be running only between June 25 through September 7.

We’re guessing that this might be a trial run for an extended service. After all, would you like to take something away from a New Yorker?

Image Credit: takamabibelot

Update: Thanks to all of you who rightly point out that these are not all separate stations. I’ve amended the title to reflect this.  For clarity, the locations listed in this post are relating to the Boingo/Google Offers service rather than existing Wi-Fi services.