Residents, visitors and businesses in Southwark are set to benefit from the fastest free public Wi-Fi available, free phone calls and a range of other free digital services on the street, thanks to a new partnership between BT, Intersection, the urban innovation company behind LinkNYC, and Primesight, a leading UK outdoor advertising company.

Southwark is a core borough for London’s business community and home to a number of the UK’s most iconic and popular tourist and cultural attractions, including The Shard and Tate Modern. It will join Camden as one of the first areas where the new service, called LinkUK from BT, will be rolled out in the capital. More than 100 LinkUK from BT kiosks are expected to be installed in the London Borough of Southwark, with the first ones due to appear in 2017.

The ultramodern kiosks, called Links, will be installed on high streets across the borough. Hundreds of users within range of a Link will be able to access free ultrafast Wi-Fi on the move, with speeds of up to 1Gbps - the fastest free public Wi-Fi service available. Other free premium services will include UK landline and mobile phone calls, rapid mobile device charging, online maps, directions and local information.

These services will come at no cost to users or taxpayers as they will be funded by revenues from advertising on the Links ’ digital displays.

Councillor Peter John, OBE, leader of Southwark Council, said:

“Southwark is one of the key business and cultural hubs in London and home to some of Britain’s most loved tourist attractions. The increased connectivity and access to local services Links will bring to Southwark will undoubtedly benefit residents, visitors and businesses alike and supports our ambition to become a digital council.”

The rollout will demonstrate the evolution of BT’s public payphones service, providing a far greater range of services to the public than existing payphones and for free. They will also take up less space and will be installed in smaller numbers than the payphones they replace.

Nick Hale, MD Ventures, BT Wholesale and Ventures, said:

“This is the phone box of the future. We’re evolving the phone box to make it relevant to people in the 21^st century by offering them ultrafast Wi-Fi, free phone calls, rapid mobile charging, a range of digital and information services and all for free.

“Southwark is at the heart of one of the greatest cities in the world and it’s entirely fitting that it will become one of the first boroughs in the UK to benefit from the new Links as we look to transform the look of our payphones and the services they offer the public.”

Matt Bird, general manager of LinkUK, said:

“The rollout of LinkUK from BT across Southwark supports the borough’s commitment to embracing change and re-imagining the implementation of digital infrastructure. In New York City, more than one million people have now connected to the fastest free Wi-Fi available via LinkNYC, and we look forward to bringing this popular service to those who live in, work in, or visit Southwark.”

At least 750 Links will be installed across central London and in major cities across the UK over the next few years. London is second only to New York in welcoming Links to its streets, which were first installed in January 2016 as part of LinkNYC. With more than 600 Links now operating across New York City, LinkNYC recently reached the milestone of more than one million registered users connected to its ultrafast Wi-Fi service.

As well as the free 1Gbps Wi-Fi, phone calls, rapid mobile charging and local information services, the new Links will also feature sensors which can capture real-time data relating to the local environment. This could include, for example, air and noise pollution, outdoor temperature and traffic conditions, potentially introducing an exciting new range of smart services to local councils and communities based on the Internet of Things.

Links will have two 55” (139.7cm) high-definition digital displays, able to display public service announcements, as well as neighbourhood advertising for global and local businesses enabling them to reach customers at the right place and right time.

BT and the LinkUK partners are working with councils and local communities, such as Southwark, to determine the best location for each Link.