Verizon activates Manhatten ‘hot spots’

Telecommunications carrier, Verizon Communications [NYSE:VZ], has upgraded 150 of New York’s public phone’s into WiFi access points. Subscribers to the company’s DSL broadband services will benefit from high speed internet access through laptops and other portable equipment up to 300 feet away from the hot spots. The company intends to increase the number of access points by 850 over the coming year, making New York the leading US city for public WiFi services; it has plans to launch the service in other major cities if the venture proves successful. Price cuts of USD10 a month on DSL subscriptions and free access to Microsoft’s MSN 8 web service have been announced, in an attempt to attract and retain customers in a market where 60% of surfers currently opt for cable supply packages. Deutsche Telecom’s [DTEGn.DE] T-Mobile is presently the US’s leading provider of WiFi, with hot spots in Starbucks cafes, bookstores and airports across the nation.