Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Verizon FiOS/DSL Customers Get Free Wi-Fi Across US

Posted by kdawson on from the windows-only dept.

Glenn Fleishman lets us know that Verizon is finally offering nationwide Wi-Fi access to its high-speed Internet customers, long after Cablevision's similar service went live. While Cablevision is building out an in-house network of hotspots, Verizon is relying on a deal with Boingo Wireless — a strategy with both strengths and drawbacks, as Wi-Fi Net News points out. Neither Verizon's nor Boingo's announcement reveals the mechanics of how existing Verizon DSL and FiOS customers will get access, but an AP report spells it out: "To use a hotspot, the customer must install software that works only on computers with Windows Vista or XP installed. Phones, iPods, and Macintosh computers with Wi-Fi can't access the hotspots."

6 of 168 comments (clear)

  1. Man, I wish I could have been in that meeting by NaCh0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Marketing Douche: Say, how about we offer mobile internet access that won't work with mobile devices.

    PHB: Great idea!!

    1. Re:Man, I wish I could have been in that meeting by commodore64_love · · Score: 2, Funny

      If only I knew what WiFi was. Is it anything like SciFi? Does it come with my AMD K5 laptop, or do I need a separate device? Does it work anywhere, or only in certain locations like coffee shops?

      Aside-

      Other "free" things we privileged members of Verizon get include access to espn360.com and disneyconnection.com. Try to contain your excitement.

      --
      "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
    2. Re:Man, I wish I could have been in that meeting by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 3, Funny

      I think they actually mean "WyFy", don't they?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  2. Re:This is fucking BULLSHIT, and it has mshaft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    ALL OVER, or it has dumb-ass STUPID verizon marketing, legal, and ms/verizon/stupid-lazy-programmers/marketing..........

    Show me, on this doll, where Verizon touched you.

  3. Re:Reverse engineering in 3, 2, 1... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I assume it is their auth protocol which is special. My university's encrypted wireless network only works on Windows and Mac (they have an unencrypted one, too, so it's not really an issue). I sent an e-mail to the IT help desk complaining and got a reply that the person responding to my e-mail was also a Linux user annoyed at the setup.

  4. Re:This is fucking BULLSHIT, and it has mshaft by AndrewNeo · · Score: 4, Funny

    ALL OVER