Old, obsolete pay phones in New York City may soon have new life.
Google is among dozens of tech companies looking to transform more than 7,000 phone booths into free WiFi hot spots. Samsung, IBM and Cisco are among some of the other Silicon Valley companies interested in participating, PCWorld reports.
The Mountain View company says the project would provide the city's five boroughs with advertising, WiFi and phone services.
If Google wins the contract, it would be the latest venture by the tech giant into broadband Internet service.
More than half of those 7,000 pay phones have advertising on them. The project’s winning bidder would share ad revenue with the city, which would start at $17.5 million, according to the global computer magazine.
