Updated June 28, 2017: BT's new digital kiosks have finally started to roll out, with the first few units now dotted along Camden high street. The kiosks provide a bunch of free services: public Wi-Fi, USB charging, location services, and even free calls to UK landlines and mobile phones. The trade-off is that the backside of the kiosk is a giant digital billboard. BT plans to roll out 750 of these kiosks over the next few years, so prepare for some very well illuminated high streets.

BT was originally planning to call the service LinkUK, but they've now launched under the clunky moniker InLinkUK—presumably for trademark reasons (Link is the network that connects together all of the UK's cash machines).

BT is also claiming that the digital monolith offers Wi-Fi "speeds of up to 1Gbps," but unless they've decided to use 802.11ad WiGig, instead of something more conventional like 802.11ac, that seems unlikely. Especially as there are no smartphones that actually support WiGig yet...

Original story (October 2016)

BT hopes to offer a free, ad-supported service—dubbed LinkUK—for Londoners to access public Wi-Fi, charge their mobile phones, and make calls.

The former telecoms state monopoly didn't reveal exactly when the service would land, claiming only that it'll be available "from next year."

Camden—if it approves BT's plans—will be the first London borough to sprout Link boxes. BT promised that the "ultramodern kiosks" would serve up wireless download speeds of up to 1Gbps, alongside UK landline and mobile phone calls, device charging, and access to local services, maps, and directions. Camden councillor Theo Blackwell said:

The plans for Link kiosks submitted by LinkUK from BT represent a really exciting step forward... If approved, [it] will mean that Camden is the first council in the UK to host these innovative services. It will be a further step as Camden council seeks to improve digital access and better serve residents, businesses, and visitors alike.

Two 55-inch, high-definition digital displays provided by Primesight will—again, if given the green light—carry ads and public service announcements generating revenue for the free service. BT has also inked a deal with the company to sell advertising on thousands of its payphone kiosks throughout Blighty.

BT's planned rollout is fairly conservative, however. Some Link boxes could pop up in Camden next year, it says, with the hope that "at least 750" of the kiosks will "be installed across central London and in major cities across the UK over the next few years."

We're told that the plan is for BT's existing payphones to be replaced by the kiosks, which "take up less space on the pavement and will be installed in smaller numbers."

The Link boxes will also be loaded with sensors to scoop up real-time data to capture—among other things—levels of air and noise pollution, outdoor temperature, and traffic conditions. BT said that use of the sensors "could potentially introduce an exciting new range of smart services to local councils and communities based on the Internet of Things."

Alphabet-backed Intersection, the consortium behind LinkNYC, struck an undisclosed deal with BT to bring the kiosks to London.

Link boxes have already gained notoriety in the Big Apple, after smut-thirsty users viewed porn on the sidewalk as agog New Yorkers sauntered past. Web browsing on the service has now been disabled. Presumably, BT will apply some stringent filters to its Wi-Fi service to prevent digital ad-sponsored lewd acts on London's street.

Meanwhile, there's no word yet on whether the capital's citizens will get to fondle themselves inside masturbation stations. Seems a bit too showy for uptight Brits, though, surely?