operator Cablevision Systems Corp has started rolling out a free Wi-Fi network for subscribers who want to access the Web via laptops and other wireless devices.
Cablevision on Thursday said the Optimum Wi-Fi is free for existing subscribers to its Optimum home Internet service.
It said the service is already activated in commercial and high-traffic areas in the Long Island, New York suburbs of Nassau County and parts of Suffolk County. The cable operator has more than 2.4 million Internet subscribers, more than half of the homes passed by its cable systems.
The new Cablevision Wi-Fi network is already the largest in the country, according to analysts at Yankee Group.
Cablevision first said in May it was planning a Wi-Fi service and forecast capital investment of around $350 million to build it out.
“We believe free and broadly available Wi-Fi access will become an important and popular enhancement for our Optimum Online customers," said Tom Rutledge, Cablevision's chief operating officer in a statement on Thursday.
Free Wi-Fi for loyal subscribers could help Cablevision in its bid to fend off competition from Verizon Communications, which is mounting an aggressive campaign in Long Island with an advanced fiber optic-based video, high-speed Internet and phone service dubbed FiOS.
Cablevision on Thursday said the Optimum Wi-Fi is free for existing subscribers to its Optimum home Internet service.
It said the service is already activated in commercial and high-traffic areas in the Long Island, New York suburbs of Nassau County and parts of Suffolk County. The cable operator has more than 2.4 million Internet subscribers, more than half of the homes passed by its cable systems.
The new Cablevision Wi-Fi network is already the largest in the country, according to analysts at Yankee Group.
Cablevision first said in May it was planning a Wi-Fi service and forecast capital investment of around $350 million to build it out.
“We believe free and broadly available Wi-Fi access will become an important and popular enhancement for our Optimum Online customers," said Tom Rutledge, Cablevision's chief operating officer in a statement on Thursday.
Free Wi-Fi for loyal subscribers could help Cablevision in its bid to fend off competition from Verizon Communications, which is mounting an aggressive campaign in Long Island with an advanced fiber optic-based video, high-speed Internet and phone service dubbed FiOS.
