Cable Companies to Offer Wi-Fi Hot Spots
Everyday the world we live in is changing, especially in the technological sense. Facebook is trading publicly in the stock market now, YouTube videos are making amateurs millionaires and Walmart wants to charge $2 per DVD to make your movie collection digital. Several cable companies, (which, if you haven’t noticed, are notorious for smearing each other regularly) have decided to join forces for once and create a new technological trend: Wi-Fi hotspots for current customers and pay-as-you-go options for non-subscribers.
Five of the “Big Boy” cable companies, Comcast Corp., Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable Inc., Cox Communications Inc., and Bright House Networks LLC, have teamed up to create more than 50,000 Wi-Fi hot spots. Currently, they are looking to place these hot spots in Tampa, Orlando, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Also, for the moment, all of the companies will offer these Wi-Fi hotspots as a perk to their current customers, but Time Warner will also offer the option to pay-as-you-go if you are not a Time Warner customer.
A joint statement from the cable companies was released on Monday by Dave Watson, the Chief Operating Officer for Comcast: “Mobility is an increasingly important part of Comcast’s product road map… Wi-Fi technology, coupled with our agreements with Verizon Wireless, are two significant ways we are executing on our strategy.”
With the increased use of YouTube, Hulu and Netflix on different devices, services like HBO Go have gained increased popularity as well. Luckily it seems that cable companies have recognized this and are moving forward with the technological revolution by making a plan to create these Wi-Fi hot spots. Enjoy it though. With the history of feuds between most of the major cable companies, we may never see this camaraderie again.
