Just weeks after slashing its
monthly DSL fee, Verizon plans to build Wi-Fi
broadband service in New York, using existing pay phones as the distribution
vehicle.
A spokesperson for Verizon said the
company would upgrade more than 200,000 pay phones in Manhattan to create 802.11b-compliant network nodes for its high-speed subscribers. The move is yet another carrot to lure customers in the burgeoning marketplace for offering wireless Internet access via Wi-Fi.
The spokesperson declined to provide details of the Wi-Fi plans, which surfaced at a Stevens Institute of Technology conference
over the weekend where Verizon President Lawrence Babbio said the Wi-Fi service will be offered as a free add-on for its broadband subscribers.
A press conference is scheduled for later this week or early next week to
make an announcement, the spokesperson told internetnews.com.
According to published reports, Babbio said it would be near impossible
to charge for access to the Wi-Fi nodes because of the absence of electric
power supply to pay phones in the New York metropolitan area.
The company is reportedly mulling different business models around
Wi-Fi, including a plan to charge mobile phone subscribers a fee to access the wireless connection.
The availablity of 802.11b service on pay phones is also seen as attempt by Verizon to salvage revenue from a pay phone infrastructure that has been
overshadowed by cell phone usage.
Because Verizon is locked into
multi-year rentals on the space for pay phones, industry watchers believe
it’s a smart investment to upgrade them to act as Wi-Fi nodes.
Verizon’s Wi-Fi service in New York would be competing with several
public “hotspots” that offer free high-speed wireless connectivity. Earlier
this month, New York City’s Downtown Alliance launched three
public hotspots at locations in Manhattan and four more are expected to
go live later this month.
The hotspots have been set up at City Hall Park, Bowling Green Park,
Rector Park and nodes are planned for Liberty Plaza Park, Vietnam Veteran’s
Memorial Part at 55 Water Street and at South Street Seaport. A Wi-Fi
hotspot is already up and running at Bryant Park on 42nd Street but the
addition of nodes to cell phones would expand on the coverage throughout the
city.
The Wi-Fi plans follow moves by Verizon to cut its monthly DSL fee $10 to
$34.95, a move that many expect competitors to mirror in coming months. The
new rate, which is being offered to new customers as part of a promotion
that includes Microsoft’s MSN 8 software, is expected to be extended to
existing subscribers sometime next month.
Separately, Verizon announced unlimited usage and fixed fee packages for
small businesses in New York and Massachusetts. The Verizon Freedom for
Business calling package promises to free business in the two states from
per-minute usage charges and introducing unlimited usage for a fixed monthly
fee.
The package, which includes DSL and Verizon Wireless services would cover
unlimited, direct-dialed local, regional and domestic long-distance calls.
Designed for small businesses with two to 10 lines, the company said the
package would eliminate per-minute usage fees associated with business
calls.
