CBS Announces 20-Block Wi-Fi Hotzone in Midtown Manhattan
CBS this week announced plans to create a 'CBS Mobile Zone' in Midtown Manhattan, covering more than 20 city blocks with Wi-Fi from Times Square to Central Park South and from 6th Avenue to 8th Avenue. The network is expected to be fully operational by the end of November – though at this point, it's only a six-month trial.
Anyone who signs on will first view an ad-supported homepage with local content. The first sponsors will be Citi and Salesgenie.com. Other network partners include Tropos, BIG, Fon, Ning, Goowy, Veoh, Yelp, 1020, Aptilo and Can-Do Entertainment.
The network itself makes use of CBS Outdoor billboards, as well as MTA-owned subway station entrances. "In addition, many local businesses will be offered free routers allowing companies and patrons to tap into the CBS Mobile Zone from indoors," according to a company statement.
Wally Kelly, CEO of CBS Outdoor, says this is being viewed as a test network for other possible deployments. "This offering will allow us to evaluate the prospect of applying Wi-Fi capabilities across our Outdoor properties globally," he says.
And most intriguingly, the press release also includes the following statement: "The CBS Mobile Zone also provides interactive advertising opportunities that can be localized down to the individual billboard…"
More here from CNET News … more here from Gothamist … more here from Wi-Fi Networking News … and the press release is here.
i-cellphonedeals said:
Nov 19, 07 at 7:11 amGreat way to push local content to mobile users. No more starbucks for me, I can go to any coffee shops and enjoy free wi-fi in that area.