Say sayonara to the payphone, New Yorkers. Because it's about to be a thing of the past.

The city has unveiled an ambitious new plan to replace all those outdated payphones with high-tech kiosks offering free, city-wide Wi-Fi at speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. Officials say it will be the fastest and largest network of its kind in the world.

The stations, dubbed Links, will be deployed in as many as 10,000 locations across all five boroughs. Besides just providing free gigabit Wi-Fi service within a radius of 150 feet, and a seamless roaming experience from one station to the next, these modernized payphone kiosks will offer free charging for your mobile devices, and a built-in Android tablet from which you can access city services and directions.

You'll also be able to make free phone calls anywhere in the U.S., and easily access 911 emergency services. On the side of the kisosk, there's a large digital display for advertising and other public service announcements.

The idea comes from a consortium of advertising, technology, and telecom companies known as CityBridge, which includes chip giant Qualcomm, and transit advertising company Titan.

Construction of the LinkNYC network will begin in 2015, and the first structures are expected to be up and running by the year's end. The network will be funded through advertising, and built at no cost to taxpayers.

Officials say it will generate more than $500 million in revenue for the city over the next 12 years, and create 100 to 150 new full-time manufacturing, technology, and advertising jobs.

The city has been trying to figure out what to do with aging payphones since at least 2012.

In the meantime, it has been busy wiring New York City subway stations with Internet connectivity.

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