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Verizon To Offer WiFi At Pay Phones

Posted by timothy on from the can-you-ping-me-now dept.

Makarand writes "Verizon has ambitious plans to catapult pay phones from the pre-cellular era to the WiFi era by creating hotspots around pay phones using an extension of their DSL service. The current plan is to upgrade 200,000 pay phones in the New York metro area to provide a WiFi service. Although major metros are spotted with hotspots, finding them is usually a big problem. Verizon thinks that specially marked WiFi enabled pay phones would solve the problem of locating the hotspots." Sounds similar to Bell Canada's move to do the same.

14 of 194 comments (clear)

  1. i can see it now.. by heff · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can imagine some guy loading up a copy of aim at one of these hot spots to recieve a message "if you log out of aim, I'll shoot you, do not tell anyone what I've told you" etc.

    they could even make a movie about it.. er

    --

    --

    |-_-| . o O ( bEef!)

  2. Says Lionel Hutz... by Linguica · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey, you, get out of my office!

  3. Well there goes that business plan... by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 3, Funny
    ...Well until tommarow.

    Yeah brain what are we going to do tomarrow night?

    The same thing we do every night, Pinky, try to take over the world!

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  4. Your connection is about to end... by product+byproduct · · Score: 4, Funny

    "...please insert another quarter to get one more megabyte"

    1. Re:Your connection is about to end... by Monkelectric · · Score: 2, Funny

      You wish! thats 1 - 3c per kilobit :D

      --

      Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley

  5. Can you ping me now? by corebreech · · Score: 5, Funny

    (sorry, couldn't resist)

    --
    Is this truly the only Earth I can live on?
    1. Re:Can you ping me now? by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 3, Funny
      And Sprint's answer...

      So I IMed him saying, Lets reply to this thread.

      (Pan to the guy with a snowboard)

      And you heard "Grab a guy who can shred"?

      --
      "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
      --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  6. Ack, Superman! by EvilTwinSkippy · · Score: 3, Funny
    Where the hell is superman supposed to change now?

    And while we are at it, will they still have handsets for the rebels to zap back to their ship with?

    --
    "Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival."
    --Dr.W.Edwards Deming
  7. Re:Would've First Posted but I read the article by AvantLegion · · Score: 4, Funny
    Who cares? Fresno's a crap hole.

    That's why Internet access is so important. Like, duh.

  8. Re:A Great Idea by Bastian · · Score: 4, Funny

    No, because thankfully Australia has superior "get a life" technology, which renders wi-fi at telephone booths hopelessly obsolete.

  9. And by djupedal · · Score: 2, Funny

    So...the same guys hawking phone cards will be more than happy to hook you up.

  10. Good Deal! by SN74S181 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now the pawnshops near the darker, more secluded phone booths will have better, cheaper prices on handheld devices and laptops.

  11. Great Idea by nate+nice · · Score: 2, Funny

    Good to see public phones may have a use after all...at least the space the consume. I wondered the other day what was to become of all these pay phones as many people have cells, except me. Good idea.

    --
    "If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer ..."
  12. Now the drug dealers can use their laptops too! by Newer+Guy · · Score: 2, Funny

    Now the drug dealers hanging out on the corner can use their laptops for drug transactions...and keep track of their inventory/order more product at the same time!