Verizon To Carry Yahoo Services

Verizon Communications Inc. has signed a multiyear agreement to provide Yahoo Inc.'s premium services to Verizon's high-speed Internet subscribers.

Verizon also unveiled an appliance that integrates a customer's communication services into one control center.

The Yahoo agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, is the latest in which a telecommunications company has partnered with an Internet content provider. SBC Communications Inc., which has offered Yahoo services to broadband subscribers since 2001, announced late last year that it planned to expand those services to cellular-phone subscribers.

Starting in the summer, customers of Verizon's digital subscriber line, or DSL, service will have the option of accessing Yahoo's premium services, which include anti-virus protection, spam filtering, email and Internet radio. The services would be available through the Verizon portal using one user ID and password.

Verizon also offers MSN services from Microsoft Corp.. Offering services from multiple partners is a major difference between Verizon and SBC, Verizon spokeswoman Bobbi Henson said.

"We're not going with one size fits all for customers," Henson said. "We're giving them a choice."

Verizon plans to announce other services that will be available through the Yahoo partnership as the launch date approaches, Henson said. The services will be available at no additional charge. Verizon subscribers currently pay $29.95 a month for DSL service, which is available in 29 states and the District of Columbia.

The Verizon appliance, called Verizon One, is manufactured by Westell Technologies Inc. and will be available in the first half of 2005.

The hardware includes a DSL modem, an 802.11g wireless router, a 5.8 Ghz cordless telephone and a color touch screen, Henson said. The device does not support Internet telephony, but that's a feature the company expects to include in the future.

The appliance includes one-touch dialing for numbers found through its telephone directory or address book. Voice mail, including name of caller, telephone number, and date and time of call, can be accessed through the touch screen, as well as the latest weather, news, stock quotes and sports scores. Other services include call forwarding, a calendar, roadmaps and directions.

The appliance will be available to Verizon DSL subscriber in the first half of the year. Pricing has not been released.