Telecompetitor

Verizon may be on the verge of offering free Wi-Fi access to its broadband subscribers. The development would follow AT&T’s lead who with the purchase of Wayport last year, now offers the largest Wi-Fi footprint free of charge to its broadband customers.

A Wi-Fi move by Verizon would also help them meet a competitive challenge in their metro New York market, where Cablevision is successfully deploying a complimentary metro Wi-Fi network for its broadband subscribers. Verizon may also be prepping their network for the next version of the BlackBerry Storm, which will purportedly offer Wi-Fi access.

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Verizon is in talks with Boingo to offer the service. Boingo operates a Wi-Fi network with access to over 100,000+ locations across the globe. Should Verizon launch the free Wi-Fi service, one could argue free Wi-Fi is quickly becoming a requirement for a competitive broadband offering. Comcast is also trialing a free Wi-Fi option in partnership with Cablevision in the Northeast.