November 15, 2005

Free wi-fi delayed for Central Park

Plans for free wi-fi in Central Park and other New York City parks has been delayed, according to the company that intends to provide the service.

The service was originally scheduled to launch in mid-October.

The free wi-fi plan isn't in jeopardy, just deferred, Marshall Brown, the chief executive officer of Wi-Fi Salon said today in an e-mail to NewYorkology.

"Put simply, we are in continued negotiations with a lead sponsor and several other sponsors. Their product launch delays affected their marketing spends, and in turn changed our timetable," Brown wrote. "A U.S. product launch for late October was scratched until Q1, a marketing spend was put off till then as well. We continue to talk. There are a half dozen other conversations besides, at least."

The company has at least been busy building Portalize.net, community portals tied to each of the locations slated to get the free wi-fi. The forums are empty, but provide a glimpse of what's to come, and where. Among the locations with portals ready to go are the Riverside Park 79th Street Boat Basin, Washington Square, Union Square, the Audobon Center at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, and several Central Park locations including the Loeb Boathouse, Summerstage, Sheep Meadow, Seneca Village and the the Delacorte Theatre.

The Daily News reported in September that Wi-Fi Salon is paying a fee to the city parks department to install its wi-fi equipment in hopes of enticing users to sign up for Internet phone pay service.

Update: Dana Spiegel, executive director of NYCwireless, says the Parks Department brought this on itself by requiring a license fee.

Earlier: Free wi-fi hotspots scheduled for Central Park

November 15, 2005 03:31 PM in Techology

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