The free service, which will be phased out over the next two months, was provided by installing short-range Wi-Fi transmitters in hundreds of telephone booths starting in May 2003.

The realization that phone booths might serve as valuable real estate for providing wireless Internet service came at a time when Verizon and other Bell companies were cutting back sharply on public phones because a growing number of people were using cell phones to make calls from public places.

But with Verizon Wireless spending billions to upgrade its cell network for speedier Internet connections costing up to $80 per month, the company has decided the time has come to pull the plug on the free Wi-Fi network.

Source: Associated Press