Strap hangers in New York will have even more reason to ignore everyone around them thanks to a new partnership between Boingo and Transit Wireless. The company best known for providing hotspots at airports and other major public places will be bringing Wi-Fi to stations throughout the four subwayed boroughs over the next five years.

But public Wi-Fi doesn’t mean everyone will use it: Boingo is a subscription service. According to their website, plans in the US start at $7.95 a month (daily and pay-as-you-go plans are also available).

With cellular service (slowly) spreading to subway platforms, many might opt to avoid the extra service charge. And it sounds like for the time being, the wireless will also serve the platforms, not the trains.

As a writer, I can definitely appreciate some extra time to research articles and access WordPress, even if it does make me look like a tech addict who can’t put their devices down for two seconds. (Sorry Sheryl Sandberg, we can’t all leave it behind at 5:30pm!)

But will this just help New Yorkers zone out the city all around them, for better and worse? If you’re glued to your iPad, you might never notice something like this.

What do you think? Would you pay for Wi-Fi on the subway platform? How about on the train?

[via The Verge]

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