Verizon killing free WiFi in NYC

They never seemed all that enthusiastic about it in the first place, but Verizon is switching off the WiFi network they built in New York City by installing wireless access points in telephone booths in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The service was originally meant to lure subscribers to Verizon's DSL service, who would get free access to the WiFi network along with their DSL subscription, but now they're deciding that they're going to start shutting off the WiFi network in favor of trying to get people to sign up for Verizon Wireless's high-speed wireless EV-DO network (which costs eighty bucks a month to use with a laptop). Hard to imagine many Verizon DSL subscribers thinking to themselves that now that they're losing access to free WiFi they're going to spend $80 a month for EV-DO, if anything Verizon should be offering free WiFi access to anyone who signs up for an EV-DO account.

[Thanks, Mike]

[Jayson Elliot @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Yet another big middle finger from Ivan Seidenberg to his customers. Verizon is really aiming for the 2005 Contempt For Customers Award.

[andy @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

They offered Express Network (1xRTT) for $80/mo and I paid tried it a year ago but cancelled after one month. $50 or $60 may be OK, but $80 is not economical if you must also pay for a connection at home.

Sorry, Verizon -- price is everything, and you got it wrong. You're fired.

[Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Damn! That is how I get my Internet. There is a phone booth on the corner I connect to.

Uh-oh.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Looks like there's some confusion with regard to the business plan in the Verizon boardroom.

[Brian W @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

I never understood those Verizon hotspots in payphones. There was one I used to walk past near NYU that looked like it dumped 3/4 of its signal into the street, while the remaining 1/4 pointed at the blank, brick side of a building.

Were Verizon subscribers supposed to whip out their laptops and sit on the curb to use the service? Made no sense to me.

[christopher wanko @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Ah, Contempt for Customer 2005 still has a stronger entrant in Apple breaking out the dock and cable from its iPod Photo and making those optional components. Much like a laptop AC adapter is an optional accessory.

[Finster @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

All the more reason to dislike Verizon. As a cellular customer of theirs, I have to admit that their coverage is the best, but I can't wait for the day that someone else comes close so I can leave them.

[Mike G @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

damn, them now i probobly will go get cable, but then again there are so many free hotspots in NYC that it only makes a dent in places where all the network sare secure, but in any event a real pity!

[Blue Balloon @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Stop whine. Verizon need money to pay their staffs. then staff able to feed their own family, cloth and food.

Ever thought of quote? "There is no such a free lunch".

[TheSniperZERO @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

I just grabbed Verizon DSL last week. One of the reasons I grabbed it is so that I would have wireless access all over midtown for my laptop and PSP.

I feel like it's a slap in the face. Fucking Verizon!

[Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

"Contempt for Customer 2005 still has a stronger entrant in Apple breaking out the dock and cable from its iPod Photo and making those optional components. Much like a laptop AC adapter is an optional accessory."

Ah, no. Companies do that all the time - I remember back when my cell phone used to come with a data cable. They wouldn't be the only ones removing the dock from a gadget - look at Palm and the Treo specifically. Besides, you can charge over USB which is included.

[Dave T. @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Strangely enough, Verizon just confirmed that "EV-DO" does indeed stand for "Evil-Doer." Go figure.

[Joey Geraci @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Ah, yes. It is an absolute disgrace that the top of the line ipod that costs $450 doesn't come with a carrying case or a dock. Remember one of the best uses for that "photo" capability, showing photos on tv's or projectors, only comes with the dock. If they cut $50 off the price of it, and included the basic carrying case, maybe, but as it stands it is a ripoff.

[addyourcommentshere @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

I could have sworn this used to only cost $60/mo when I looked at it last year.

[Whtrbt7 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Verizon is really going to hit NYC in a soft spot on this one. For the clients paying for DSL, we are probably going to try to use EVDO and hardwire it to a 802.11G router so we can use NAT to many devices. The prices are insane and the service is insane. I really wish Verizon was not a money-sucking evil corporation (since they have government contracts). I hope one day this comes and slaps them in the face.

[adam j. sontag @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

This sucks big time. Is the logic here "we're going to stop giving people something free, in the hopes that they'll spend $80 on something else?"

--adam

[Rocketboy_X @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Wow, how evil.. they stopped giving away something for free. Something that cost them money to run. Gee, how terrible.

[Doxology @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Ahem.

The wi-fi service *wasn't* free. It was offered as a value-add for *paying* customers.

Verizon didn't discontinue a free service; they decreased the value of the service their customers pay for.

[Len Egan @ Dec 19th 2005 12:13AM]

Their unlimited plan for smartphones and pocket pc phones is $49.99 for unlimited use. $24.99 for 5 mb of data transfer (might just as well be 0 mb). I keep hearing about everyone being wirelessly connected to these wireless broadband connections within a few years, but at $80 per month for PC and $50 for mobile devices the network isn't going to build very fast.

Still, think about cellular service 10 years ago when I paid $30 per month for 50 any time minutes and no unlimited nights and weekends. Once they opened up the pricing, the world went cellular. I expect that the same will eventually happen with the wireless broadband.

While it irks me that it is so expensive, my customer service experience with Verizon has been great. Verizon Wireless that is.

I have a family plan that is over $100 per month. It seems to make sense to me that they should have breakpoints for advanced services based on the amount you spend with them. The financial world has done it forever.