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Cablevision Offers Free Wi-Fi Service to Long Island Subscribers

5:45 am on September 5, 2008 | Category: Internet, Telecom Services, Wi-Fi

New York pay-TV operator, Cablevision Systems Corp., has finished the first phase of a $300 million wireless broadband network, in an effort to maintain a competitive edge against IPTV rivals such as Verizon Communications.

Cablevision is now offering free Wi-Fi internet access in commercial areas of Long Island’s Nassau County and parts of neighbouring Suffolk Country, as well as in commuter train stops throughout Long Island.

Cablevision’s free Wi-Fi network, which offers DSL-comparable download speeds of 1.5-Mbps, is available exclusively to the cable operator’s high-speed internet customers, and represents a unique value-added feature not offered by Verizon.

“It’s not hard to imagine that a customer would say Cablevision’s service, with the same speed but including free wireless, is a better deal,” commented Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst, Craig Moffett, noting that no cable company has tried this free Wi-Fi strategy before.

The network will be extended throughout Cablevision’s service footprint by 2010, according to company spokesman, Jim Maiella.

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