City Hall Seeks Ideas to Connect the Disconnected to Broadband

City Hall is putting out a call for innovations to connect more New Yorkers to high speed internet.

Maya Wiley, counsel to Mayor de Blasio, says the call is open to any person or organization who has a creative notion about how to make broadband affordable.

“I'd say we hope to be surprised. We look forward to being surprised. The whole idea is to bring ideas and innovations we might not be thinking about currently in government,” Wiley said.

According on one analysis, 22 percent of New York City households have no internet access. One barrier for them is money — a high-speed plan can cost about $70 a month.

The deadline for submissions is June 30. Wiley says City Hall will pick the best proposals and try to turn them into policy.