Comcast, Other Cablecos Unite in Wi-Fi Initiative
THE CABLE SHOW The big U.S. cable companies have banded together to allow their customers to access their Wi-Fi networks reaching more than 50,000 hotspots.
Cable customers will use the network name “CableWiFi” when accessing the hotspots located in such areas as arenas, cafes, restaurants, shopping districts and parks and beaches, announced Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable.
The hotspots are located in New York City and the surrounding Tri-State area, Los Angeles, Tampa, Orlando, and Philadelphia. The cable operators plan to grow the number of Wi-Fi hotspots and expand into several other cities.
Already, Bright House Networks and Cablevision have introduced CableWiFi alongside their branded Wi-Fi networks in central Florida and the New York City area. And over the next few months, each of the cable companies will add CableWiFi to their branded WiFi hospots.
“Through our rollout of WiFi and the benefits of this collaboration we greatly increase the value and reach of our high-speed internet service, providing access to broadband outside the home and in cities across the country,” said Rob Marcus, President and COO of Time Warner Cable, in a statement.
This is not the first time the cable companies have collaborated in a Wi-Fi partnership. In early 2010, Cablevision, Comcast and Time Warner Cable entered into a pact that enabled their customers in several cities on the East Coast to access WiFi hotspots offered by each cable operator.
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