The decision to support free Wi-Fi for consumers comes late for Verizon, Boingo's Gunning argued. AT&T's move to offer free Wi-Fi followed its .

AT&T sees Wi-Fi as a way of supplementing its cellular network services, something Verizon has been slow to accept, Gunning said.

"Verizon is one of the last telecom companies in the world to publicly embrace Wi-Fi and has not been really receptive to Wi-Fi in the last few years," Gunning said. He noted that carriers in Europe were aware that cellular networks could not always support user demand, and used that as a reason to include Wi-Fi. "Verizon has had an 'A-ha!' moment and decided that Wi-Fi needed to be a part of its major product offers."

But Rabe doesn't feel Verizon is late. "We're in touch with customer demand," he said.

Rather than competing with AT&T, Gunning said Verizon is likely feeling the pressure from cable companies offering free Wi-Fi. He cited a blog from Verizon today describing the company's free Wi-Fi as superior to what cable companies offer.