LinkUK

Last updated
LinkUK
FoundedOctober 25, 2016;7 years ago (2016-10-25)
Headquarters London, England, United Kingdom
Area served
Greater London; Sheffield; Birmingham; Portsmouth
BrandsLinkUK
Services Wireless communication
Owner Intersection, BT Group, Primesight
Website http://www.inlinkuk.com/ [ dead link ]

LinkUK or InLinkUK is an infrastructure project that planned to cover major cities in the United Kingdom with free Wi-Fi service. LinkUK kiosks, called Links, was initially rolled out in the London borough of Camden in 2017, and later in Lambeth, Hammersmith & Fulham and other boroughs. Afterwards, it was intended that Links would be installed in the remainder of Greater London and eventually across major cities in the UK. LinkUK is an expansion of the LinkNYC project covering New York City with free Wi-Fi service. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

InLink Limited, the company set up to install and manage InLinkUK's WiFi kiosks, together with BT, Intersection and advertising firm Primesight, entered administration in 2019, casting doubt over the future of the project. [4] To resolve the problem, BT purchased the part of the InLink network that they did not already own, [5] and re-branded the kiosks as "Street Hubs", [6] and in 2021 launched the next, improved version. [7]

History

In 2015, BT Group sought an advertising partner to maintain advertisements situated in its 17,500 telephone booths across the UK. BT ultimately partnered with Intersection, the owner of LinkNYC, and Primesight, a London-based advertising agency. BT will remove certain telephone booths for the Links and provide the network infrastructure. In return, Intersection and Primesight will display advertising on two dedicated screens on the kiosks. [8]

Services

The Links will provide free Wi-Fi access with speeds up to 1 gigabit per second, while displays on both sides of the Link will display digital advertisements. The Links feature a tablet, two USB charging ports, and a phone providing free calling to UK numbers. [1] Devices can access the Links' network without time or access limits. [8] Each Link's tablet will provide basic functionality, such as maps and access to emergency services. [9]

Complaints

While LinkNYC was being rolled out, kiosks' web browsers were being used to access inappropriate content such as pornography. Amid this concern, LinkUK kiosks' tablets will not have a web browser. [10]

In the UK there have been complaints that the free phone service is being exploited by drug dealers. [11] [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wi-Fi</span> Wireless local area network

Wi-Fi is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves. These are the most widely used computer networks, used globally in home and small office networks to link devices and to provide Internet access with wireless routers and wireless access points in public places such as coffee shops, hotels, libraries, and airports to provide visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Payphone</span> Coin or card-operated public telephone

A payphone is typically a coin-operated public telephone, often located in a telephone booth or in high-traffic public areas. Prepayment is required by inserting coins or telephone tokens, swiping a credit or debit card, or using a telephone card.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red telephone box</span> Kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott

The red telephone box, is a telephone kiosk for a public telephone designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, the architect responsible for Liverpool Cathedral.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telephone booth</span> Small structure furnished with a payphone

A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box, telephone box or public call box is a tiny structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience; usually the user steps into the booth and closes the booth door while using the payphone inside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wi-Fi hotspot</span> Wi-Fi access point

A hotspot is a physical location where people can obtain Internet access, typically using Wi-Fi technology, via a wireless local-area network (WLAN) using a router connected to an Internet service provider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google WiFi</span> Municipal wireless network deployed in Mountain View, California

Google WiFi was a municipal wireless network deployed in Mountain View, California. It was funded by Google and installed primarily on city lightposts. Google had committed to keeping the service free until 2010. The initial service was shut down by Google on May 3, 2014 at their Mountain View base, and provided a new public outdoor WiFi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wi-Fi calling</span> Protocol that extends mobile voice, data and multimedia applications over IP networks

Wi-Fi calling, also called VoWiFi, refers to mobile phone voice calls and data that are made over IP networks using Wi-Fi, instead of the cell towers provided by cellular networks. Using this feature, compatible handsets are able to route regular cellular calls through a wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) network with broadband Internet, while seamlessly change connections between the two where necessary. This feature makes use of the Generic Access Network (GAN) protocol, also known as Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA).

Sky Broadband is the consumer internet service offered by Sky UK in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BT Mobile</span> British mobile virtual network operator

BT Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) provided by BT Consumer; a division of BT Group in the United Kingdom that was launched in March 2015. It uses the EE network via an MVNO agreement signed in March 2014 as well as using the spectrum BT won in the 2013 4G auction. EE is now owned by BT following a successful acquisition that was officially completed on 29 January 2016. BT Mobile operates alongside BT Business Mobile which is provided by the BT Business and Public Sector division. BT Mobile launched as a SIM-only service and had more than 400,000 customers as of 5 May 2016. BT Mobile stopped accepting new consumer customers in October 2023, as part of plans by the BT Group to make EE the main brand of the consumer business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BT Smart Hub</span> Family of wireless residential gateway router modems distributed by BT

The BT Smart Hub is a family of wireless residential gateway router modems distributed by BT for use with their own products and services and those of wholesale resellers but not with other Internet services. Since v 5 Home/Smart Hubs support the faster Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard, in addition to the 802.11b/g/n standards. All models of the Home Hub prior to Home Hub 3 support VoIP Internet telephony via BT's Broadband Talk service, and are compatible with DECT telephone handsets. Since the Home Hub 4, all models have been dual band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the Internet in the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has been involved with the Internet throughout its origins and development. The telecommunications infrastructure in the United Kingdom provides Internet access to homes and businesses mainly through fibre, cable, mobile and fixed wireless networks, with the UK's 140-year-old copper network, maintained by Openreach, set to be withdrawn by December 2025, although this has since been extended to 31st January 2027 in some areas due to reasons including panic alarms in sheltered housing needing a persistent connection which can't be guaranteed with internet-based DECT systems.

BT MyPlace is a service that dynamically delivers content and information to people, based on their personal preferences and location. The location-based service is available over BT’s outdoor Wi-Fi network in central London and the West End. It uses the BT Openzone outdoor Wi-Fi network in Westminster.

Titan was an American advertising firm that specialized in out-of-home advertising, headquartered in New York City, New York. A privately held company, it was the largest transit advertising company in North America until a 2015 merger. The company provided services for outdoor advertising on transit vehicles and stations, telephone kiosks, and street banners.

BT Redcare is the largest supplier of alarm signalling services for security and fire in the UK. It was established over thirty years ago, and works with both the business and domestic markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LinkNYC</span> Internet service provider in New York City

LinkNYC is an infrastructure project providing free Wi-Fi service in New York City. The office of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the plan on November 17, 2014, and the installation of the first kiosks, or "Links," started in late 2015. The Links replace the city's network of 9,000 to 13,000 payphones, a contract for which expired in October 2014. The LinkNYC kiosks were devised after the government of New York City held several competitions to replace the payphone system. The most recent competition, in 2014, resulted in the contract being awarded to the CityBridge consortium, which comprises Qualcomm; Titan and Control Group, which now make up Intersection; and Comark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KX telephone boxes</span> Public telephones in the UK

The KX series of telephone boxes in the United Kingdom was introduced by BT in 1985. Following the privatisation of BT in 1984, the company decided to create a newly designed and improved take on the British telephone box, which at this point consisted of only red telephone boxes which BT had recently acquired, the most common being the iconic K6 box. These red boxes were considered flawed in parts by BT for several reasons, including cost, lack of ventilation, accessibility and maintenance. BT announced the £160 million series of new boxes, the KX series designed by GKN, as well as announcing the eventual replacement of all existing telephone boxes. The main telephone box in the KX range is the KX100. Upon launch, there were five models in total. The boxes were produced at a rate of 5,000 a year, with the total count of all BT-owned kiosks reaching 137,000 by 1999, a number which has since decreased by more than seventy per cent.

Hutchison 3G UK Limited, trading as Three UK, is a British telecommunications company based in Reading, England. It is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of CK Hutchison Holdings, a limited liability Cayman Islands company registered and listed in Hong Kong. Three is the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United Kingdom, with about 10.6 million subscribers as of May 2024.

Intersection is a smart cities technology and out-of-home advertising company. It was formed as a result of a merger between Control Group and Titan in June 2015. The Intersection is known for its product LinkNYC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CityFibre</span> British network provider

CityFibre is an independent British telecommunications network provider, providing gigabit-capable FTTP broadband across the UK. They are the third-largest network provider in the UK, after Openreach and Virgin Media. It is considered one of the UK's "altnets", in reference to being an alternative to Openreach.

References

  1. 1 2 Lunden, Ingrid (2016). "LinkNYC's free WiFi and phone kiosks hit London as LinkUK, in partnership with BT". TechCrunch. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  2. McCormick, Rich (2016). "Link brings its free public Wi-Fi booths from New York to London". The Verge. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  3. "London is next in line for Google-backed gigabit Wi-Fi". PCWorld. 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  4. Jackson, Mark (18 December 2019). "Company Behind BT InLinkUK WiFi Kiosks Enters Administration". ISPreview UK.
  5. Jackson, Mark (23 December 2019). "BT to Purchase Entire UK Estate of InLinkUK WiFi Kiosks". ISPreview UK.
  6. Jackson, Mark (23 April 2020). "BT Part Fixes InLink Kiosk Problem – Rebrands to Street Hubs". ISPreview UK.
  7. Jackson, Mark (3 June 2021). "ISP BT Launch Next Gen UK WiFi Street Hub Kiosks with 5G Boost". ISPreview UK.
  8. 1 2 "Fact Sheet" (PDF). LinkUK. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  9. "Wanaport hotel wifi services". Sunday, 6 June 2021
  10. Osborne, Charlie. "London's Link smart kiosks will be stripped down due to NYC complaints". ZDNet. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  11. Hopkins, Steven (10 September 2017). "BT Digital Kiosks Expansion Halted After Claims They're 'Used Mainly For Drug Dealing'". Huffington Post UK.
  12. Taylor, Harry (7 June 2018). "Dial a dealer: Camden to stop roll-out of new BT InLink kiosks after they get used by drug dealers". Hampstead and Highgate Express.