Homeless WiFi

It's all about the WiFi in NYC for homeless people. They need to be online just as much as the rest of the general population. Fortunately WiFi is available all over the city. NYC is a huge WiFi hub. LinkNYC has charging WiFi stations all over the city. You can charge your mobile, make free phone calls to anywhere in the States and get general info from the tablet screen.

There’s always someone at one of the charging stations. Some take it even further. They settle in with their cardboard or bed thing for a longer stay. I do the cardboard thing sometimes. Kick off my shoes and surf the web at mad speeds while my phone and portable charger is charging. When a station is abducted there is nothing to do but find another. Why disturb a web addict in the throes of web lust. I usually give up one of the USB ports when someone comes along.

These stations are a lifeblood to the homeless in the city. When you are homeless your cellphone is your main connection to everything. You can’t live without it. You won’t survive out there without it. Not in the 21st century big city life. So every wanderer has a gadget or two and that means having ready access to web and power. The LinkNYC stations provides both. The WiFi on these stations is speedy. Both downloading and uploading is awesome. I never had a bad day where the web choked. Charging on the other hand leaves a lot to be desired. It is freaking slow. If you want a full charge you better get your cardboard bed thingy and settle for like 4 hours. It will take that long or even more. I have never charged my gear 100% at a charging station. It is USB charging so that is expected. I wish I could at least charge my Chromebook at the stations. That would be the be all and end all of awesomeness.

All in all everyone in the city has access to web and slow charging which is an incredible thing. I have helped couple people set up the LinkNYC WiFi on their devices. They were mad hungry for access. And I totally understood the feeling. Sometimes I am out there like 2 in the morning charging my gear in the city that never sleeps. A food truck is always close by. I get hot coffee to keep me warm and I have web access to keep me plugged in. What more can I want.