CBS launches FREE WiFi network in mid-town Manhattan

What good is that shiny, new wireless gadget of yours without a high-speed wireless connection? Well, CBS has you gadget-loving Manhattanites covered – in a blanket of sweet, sweet WiFi goodness, that is. CBS has announced that it intends to launch their CBS Mobile Zone to bring WiFi hotspot-access to a sizable chunk of mid-town Manhattan. The CBS Mobile Zone will bring free wireless internet to laptops, WiFi-enabled cellphones, internet tablets, etc. to anyone that happens to find themselves between Central Park South and Time Square and between 6th Ave. and 8th Ave. (the map to the right outlines the coverage area in red).

But, as the saying goes, nothing in life is free. CBS is planning to bankroll the CBS Mobile Zone with advertisements from CBS Outdoor (CBS’s outdoor marketing arm – billboards, bus-stop ads, etc.). Accessing CBS’s free wireless network will take you to a CBS-branded homepage filled with targeted advertisements and media – Citi and Salesgenie have already signed up as advertising sponsors, with more to surely follow.

Seems to us like a clever advertising campaign timed perfectly with the upcoming holiday shopping season. But, hey, we’re not going to look a free wireless-network-gift-horse in the mouth.

[Via: Mashable]