Internet customers in the tri-state region will be delighted to hear that three of the biggest providers - Cablevision, Comcast and Time Warner - just announced a deal to share Wi-Fi networks between each other.
If you are, for example, a Time Warner user in New York, you will now be able to connect to any of the thousands of Wi-Fi access points all over the city. Simply use your existing login info, free of any additional costs, regardless of which cable provider operates it.
"Cable providers interconnecting Wi-Fi services so customers can roam freely across networks is an extremely meaningful development," John Bickham, president of cable operations at Cablevision, said in a statement.
For now, this is limited to customers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. But there's hope it may be extended to other areas.
"This agreement is the first of its kind, and, we believe, the first of many," said Bickham.
The real significance of the deal is the possibility that such agreements could cover an entire area, thus allowing us to walk around and use Wi-Fi instead of 3G on our smartphones and tablets.
It's not the first time the Wi-Fi market in that region has undergone a certain amount of liberalization. Less than a month ago, Time Warner Cable announced that New York cable customers would be able to join any of its Wi-Fi hotspots for free, using their Road Runner login information.
But the new Time Warner, Cablevision and Comcast deal dwarfs that and turns New York City into one giant hotspot. Unless you’re using AT&T and Verizon, that is. Hopefully, the trend will continue beyond these three states and providers.
(Photo: nicolasnova / Flickr )
