Time Warner Cable plans to have 1,000 Wi-Fi access points live in Manhattan by the middle of next month, and will also allow free access to all of its New York City-area hotspots during Major League Baseball’s All-Star Week.
The nation’s second-largest cable operator already had more than 1,700 hotspots active in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, and plans on adding up to 10,000 more access points in the four New York boroughs it serves by the end of the year.
Customers can also access more than 75,000 TWC WiFi Hotspots across the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut at no cost.
A spokesman for Time Warner Cable said both Cisco and Ruckus Wireless were providing the gear for the New York area Wi-Fi build out.
Outside of the All Star promotion, TWC WiFi is free for Time Warner Cable customers that subscribe to its Standard Internet or higher data tiers. Time Warner Cable is also offering non-subscribers Wi-Fi access on a “pay-as-you-go” basis, which is the same strategy it employed when it first launched its largest Wi-Fi network in the Los Angeles area a few years ago.
New Yorkers and tourists will no doubt be thrilled to access the Wi-Fi service via their tablets and smartphones without worrying about additional charges on their data plans.
“New Yorkers are highly mobile and often need a broadband connection on the go,” said Mike Roudi, senior vice president of corporate development. “By accessing one of our thousands of hotspots around the city, our customers will enjoy even more value from their TWC Internet subscriptions and avoid pricey cellular data overage charges.”
To celebrate the Wi-Fi launch and its role as the designated “Official WiFi Provider” of Major League Baseball All Star Week in the city July 12-16, Time Warner Cable will offer complimentary access to its 2,700 plus outdoor hotspots in New York City during the event dates.
“We’re thrilled to officially launch TWC WiFi in New York City, just in time for MLB All-Star Week when millions of fans will be here to support their teams. By offering free access during the event, they can sample the service to conveniently check scores and stats using TWC WiFi Hotspots around the City,” said Roudi.
Time Warner Cable subscribers’ Wi-Fi access gains are also a boon for the subscribers within the Cable WiFi alliance, which includes Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Cablevision and Bright House Networks, as they will also be able to access the new hotspots.
Earlier this month, the Cable WiFi alliance announced that there were more than 150,000 access points across the nation for their subscribers to use. All told, the roaming pact is the biggest Wi-Fi network in the nation, and a useful means for keeping cable subscribers from wandering off into the arms of other service providers.
On the first day of The Cable Show earlier this month, Time Warner Cable announced that its Los Angeles Wi-Fi network was up to 12,000 access points across a span of 300 miles.
Time Warner Cable also has Wi-Fi deployments underway in Kansas City and Austin (where it competes against Google Fiber in both locations), Hawaii and Charlotte.
Time Warner Cable subscribers can use the company’s TWC Wi-Fi Finder app , which works with both Android and Apple iOS devices, to find nearby hotspots.
