GOWEX free wifi hits NYC: yes, it's real!

This week the folks at GOWEX have begun their roll-out of free wireless internet across the fine city of New York. With this push, the company will be testing their "FREEWiFiGOWEX" network to see if it's truly worth the effort for them to trade their services for subsidies from mobile brands like AT&T as well as advertising dollars from massive amounts of partners they've got on-hand. And it's live – you can connect right this second!

If you take a peek on your smartphone, tablet, notebook, or what-have-you in your list of wifi hotspots, you should be able to see FREEWiFiGOWEX on the list no matter where you are in New York City. Right this minute they've got their network up for NYC, the first of many "Wireless Smart Cities" on the GOWEX map. They're doing this with a total of 1,953 WiFi Smart Zones across the city in neighborhoods in all five boroughs: Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx.

While you are able to connect to FREEWiFiGOWEX without any additional commitment – at this moment, anyway – you can also download an app that will show you where signals are stronger throughout the city. This app goes by the name of GOWEX WiFi Free and is available for both iOS and Android. With this app you'll get a lovely set of "Smart City services" including news channels, local information on venues, and of course, advertisements.

It's unclear at the moment how deep the advertisement aspect of this project goes, as GOWEX will be profiting from not just cash from mobile carriers that find the service lightening their load, but advertising dollars as well. GOWEX lets the public (and potential advertisers) know that with their "Smart Advertising platform", they'll be reaching users from both the American market and tourists all the same – massive amounts of them in NYC, too, of course.

GOWEX is now live, they say they're offering 1Mb speed connection for free users, and you can connect right this second. Let us know how it goes if you do live in NYC, and we'll be sure to let you know if and when they expand!