Verizon recently announced that they were turning payphones into wifi hotspots ... what I didn't realize was that this is free wifi access to verizon online customers. This isn't a new tactic (people have been suggesting it for years and it exists in some areas of the UK and Canada), but Verizon has a large footprint in more than a few interesting places.
This move, combined with increase in their base DSL performance to 1.5Mbps downstream and a drop in price to as low as $30/month (assuming you subscribe to another Verizon plan - $35 if not) will make this much more attractive than competing services to many people. There are signs that folks are Verizon "get it" as opposed to some (but not all) of the cable providers who seem to feel that miking the customer base is more appropriate.
I think they have a winning strategy here.
I should add that AOL should be very worried about these developments. Low priced services with some handholding may move AOL subs in droves. Verizon has partnered with MSN on their offering - something that is probably warm and fuzzy enough for the average AOL user.
6:07:41 AM 
|
