BellSouth says it is building 100 hotspots in Charlotte, N.C.: Existing DSL and dial up customers will be able to use the hotspots, which will become available in the second quarter, for free. It's not clear if folks who are not BellSouth Internet customers will be able to use the network. BellSouth doesn't seem to have a press release about this on its Web site; maybe the story was announced locally in Charlotte.
BellSouth is one of the few major landline operators that has yet to announce a Wi-Fi strategy. The company owns a variety of wireless licenses in and around the MMDS bands. This is pure speculation, but BellSouth would be smart to build hotspots once WiMax gear is available and comes down in price because it can use its licensed frequencies and WiMax to backhaul hotspots at a low cost.