Better, faster, free internet will help everyone in NYC

From Manhattan’s famous Museum Mile to the Bronx Zoo, New York City’s Link5G program is an opportunity to raise the bar on our city’s high-speed internet connectivity as millions of New Yorkers and visitors need digital access more than ever to fully participate in modern life. This digital equity initiative is particularly important in the Bronx, where up to 45% of residents in neighborhoods like Melrose and Mott Haven lack broadband access.

As Bronx borough president, this issue is personal for me. I see firsthand the toll this digital divide has on our schoolchildren, families and older neighbors. It’s why I’ve invested significant time and resources in providing critical services such as digital literacy training for our seniors, in addition to Chromebooks and Wi-Fi hotspots for our students.

Link5G offers the potential of ubiquitous, fast cellular service and free Wi-Fi for Bronx residents in their communities as they move, work and play across the whole city. We’re already seeing the benefits of expanded wireless coverage every day in places like Morris Heights — where the mayor launched Link5G last July — and other areas that have languished as digital deserts for far too long.

However, support for these kiosks has not been universal. Rather than appreciate what Link5G offers, several critics have pushed back on the program’s expansion.

Some object to Link5G’s visual aesthetics of the kiosks being installed on sidewalks or already have reliable access to 5G, the fifth-generation mobile network. These 5G NIMBYs are, in essence, prioritizing their own niche interests and aesthetic comforts at the expense of underserved New Yorkers, children and neighborhoods.

Reliable wireless service requires the deployment of new infrastructure that supplements existing technology, such as rooftop antennas and underground fiber cable — or Link5G kiosks, which have space for up to five wireless carriers’ equipment. That means they can provide better, faster, and cheaper service for more people and small businesses nearby.

Bronx residents are not the only New Yorkers who could benefit from Link5G. Across New York City, approximately two-in-five households lack either a home broadband connection or mobile broadband through cell service. More than 1.3 million New Yorkers lack both. For these people, the social, educational, economic, and public safety consequences can be catastrophic. Here in the Bronx, nearly one in five teens cannot finish their homework because they live on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Link5G will eventually roll out to 2,000 locations, with 90% installed in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island and above 96th St. in Manhattan. The need for these kiosks in underserved areas is illustrated by the fact that Link5G’s predecessor, LinkNYC, has provided more than 13 million New Yorkers with free, high-speed wireless internet since 2016 and is used to make around 425,000 phone calls monthly. It also offers access to 911 emergency services and valuable community-oriented public service announcements.

Even in districts with historic or commercial corridors, where locals have questioned the need for these kiosks, it’s unwise to assume every person who lives in the neighborhood, commutes there for work or is visiting has the same access to connectivity. My constituents often commute to other boroughs for work; their ability to stay connected is a necessity — not a luxury.

Still, many critics see the kiosks — which stand only as tall as traditional light posts — and attack their location, size, or ad screens without acknowledging the benefits of the kiosks to the city at large.

The Link5Gs represent critical infrastructure that deliver essential public services to New Yorkers who otherwise would be left disconnected. The city Office of Technology and Innovation understands communities should have a voice in the process, and that’s why they notify community leaders and stakeholders about each proposed location and hold a 60-day public comment period during the process. Still, the program faces opposition from residents who prefer to make their neighborhoods virtual “gated communities,” where only the most privileged can remain connected.

Mayor Adams said it best: “When you say ‘not in my backyard,’ you are believing your block belongs to you. It belongs to the city.” The deployment of Link5Gs is not a you or me issue; it’s about the broader benefits we as a city will share.

And if I know anything about New Yorkers, it’s that we adjust to change like few others can. The role technology plays in our daily lives will only grow. If given a fair chance, I am certain that, over time, Link5G will be recognized for its outsized contributions to the well-being of New Yorkers and our entire city.

Gibson is Bronx borough president.