Verizon rebates wireless router for biz DSL customers

By Susan Rush
From The September 10, 2002 Edition Of CED Broadband Direct

Hoping to attract new DSL business customers, Verizon Online is offering rebates on Linksys' EtherFast wireless broadband router.

Depending on the DSL package ordered, customers could get up to a 100 percent rebate on the router. A $100 rebate will be offered to new customers who order Verizon's basic business DSL service, which offers 786 Kbps downstream and 128 Kbps upstream. A full $180 rebate will be given to businesses ordering any DSL plan that offers connection speeds of up to 1.5 Mbps or above. Customers will need to purchase an adapter or network card to link each computer to the wireless network, according to Verizon. The rebate will be offered for a limited time.

The EtherFast wireless broadband router, which uses Wi-Fi technology, beams a single DSL connection to multiple computers and enables peripherals such as printers and scanners to be networked. "With this wireless router, businesses can literally take DSL where it's never gone before," says Richard Herbst, director of business marketing for Verizon Advanced Services.

"The connection's portability lets businesses reconfigure office space and add new employees without the hassle of reconfiguring a wired network," he says.

Verizon offers DSL to small and mid-sized businesses in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

Yesterday, Verizon Chief Executive Ivan Seidenberg the company plans to cut its net debt by roughly 10 percent this year. If this goal is accomplished, the company's debt would be cut to $57.9 billion by year's end. At the end of 2001, Verizon had $63.3 billion in debt.