Link, which launched its free phone and Wi-Fi kiosks in Newark in October, is seeing strong usage already, it told ROI-NJ, with the first four locations averaging 2,400 calls per month.
Link hopes to eventually place 45 kiosks in the city under its LinkNWK partnership between parent company Intersection, the city, Newark Community Economic Development Corp. and New Jersey Institute of Technology.
The first four kiosks, which provide services including telephony, Wi-Fi and device charging, are located along Broad Street at prominent downtown intersections, taking advantage of the Newark Fiber internet initiative.
“Since LinkNWK launched last October, it has been incredible to see Newark residents and visitors using the many services that Link provides,” a spokesperson told ROI-NJ. “The free Wi-Fi sees more than 3,200 sessions per month across just four Links along Broad Street, with strong usage across the other services, including charging, phone calls and more. Additionally, we’ve been able to collaborate with Newark residents and institutions to showcase great local content and promote small businesses. For example, we worked with local artist Kern Bruce on a ‘Women of Newark’ series during Women’s History Month, and, right now, LinkNWK is partnering with Equal Space to promote the coworking space and incubator dedicated to supporting diverse entrepreneurs.”
The kiosks are located at:
- Broad and Green streets, near the Prudential Center;
- Broad Street and Raymond Boulevard;
- Broad Street and Prudential Drive;
- Broad and Rector streets, near the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
Link noted that the four kiosks see roughly the same usage.
The service debuted in the U.S. in New York City and also has kiosks in Philadelphia, as well as the U.K.