New York City officials with the Department of Parks and Recreation earlier this week set a July deadline for a contractor to have a functional wireless Internet network in place in Central Park, and a late-summer deadline for Wi-Fi in a number of additional parks, including Riverside, Washington Square Parks and the Bronx’s Orchard Beach, The New York Times reports.The city plans to expand wireless Web access to the majority of its parkland over the coming years, according to the Times.Robert Garafola, Parks and Recreation deputy commissioner for management and budget, said at the hearing, “We expect Central Park to be launched in July, and the rest of the parks in late summer,” according to the Times.The officials made the announcement at a City Council hearing on Monday, and the deadline represents significant progress in a three-year-old initiative that has been hindered by numerous complications, including technical difficulties and minimal interest on the part of major Internet service providers, according to the Times. It remains to be seen whether that deadline is realistic.Cities such as Philadelphia and San Francisco have made recent headlines because of their high-profile Wi-Fi implementations, and New York is playing catch-up. Though New York is currently extending Wi-Fi access only to its parks, individuals and businesses near these areas will likely be able to use the service as well, and considering the vast array of parks within the city’s five boroughs, the network could have a huge impact on its residents, the Times reports.For related news coverage, read Norway Gets Commercial Wi-Fi, Cellular Service, Philadelphia Wi-Fi Plan OK’d by City Council and Google Steers Clear of Silicon Valley Wi-Fi.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content case study How IT leaders use EV tech to fuel the transport revolution in Kenya Many African nations are starting to invest in electric vehicle (EV) transportation as a means to broaden access and help keep pace with global environmental initiatives. In Kenya, strides are being made despite industry and tech leaders grappling to By Vincent Matinde May 31, 2023 5 mins CIO CTO Emerging Technology feature How CIOs distill the most sought-after data skills From back-end engineers to data scientists and line-of-business experts, here’s the in-demand talent that all organizations need to turn a glut of information into game-changing insight. By Mark Samuels May 31, 2023 8 mins IT Skills Data Center IT Leadership interview Broadcom’s Andy Nallappan on what cloud success really looks like The CTO, CSO, and head of software engineering and operations knows firsthand that a successful move to the cloud is all about changing the culture and replacing on-prem’s sunk cost mentality with incentivized FinOps. By Martha Heller May 31, 2023 8 mins Technology Industry IT Strategy Cloud Computing feature Key IT initiatives reshape the CIO agenda While cloud, cybersecurity, and analytics remain top of mind for IT leaders, a shift toward delivering business value is altering how CIOs approach key priorities, pushing transformative projects to the next phase. By Mary Pratt May 30, 2023 10 mins IT Strategy IT Leadership Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe