Downtown Brooklyn WiFi & Staten Island Ferry: Public Wireless Internet

Slice Wireless Solutions delivered two high profile public WiFi deployments in New York City: the Downtown Brooklyn WiFi network (serving an estimated 15 million visitors annually) and the Staten Island Ferry WiFi network (supporting 8 ferries per day and roughly 12 million passengers per year). Both projects required large area WiFi engineered for dense, always on usage, with the Staten Island Ferry adding the complexity of high mobility connectivity.

Wireless Services Provided
Slice defined and delivered an end-to-end solution based largely on internet gateways, enabling traffic management, security controls, and performance optimization for heavy demand. Each network was designed to operate as permanent WiFi in high traffic public spaces, backed by continuous monitoring, 24/7 support, and rapid troubleshooting. Ongoing managed network upgrades helped maintain reliability as user behavior, devices, and capacity requirements evolved.

Lessons Learned
Consistent connectivity across multiple locations improves user experience; but only when the foundation is right. A thorough wireless site survey and RF site survey are essential for predicting coverage, interference, and capacity needs, especially outdoors and around moving vessels. Just as importantly, successful public access models often benefit from a cost recovery network strategy that balances service quality with operational sustainability.

Whether you need resilient public networks, temporary wireless for events, or long term wireless infrastructure, Slice designs and supports WiFi built to perform under real world pressure.