[phrelin]

You can pick your news report with a Google News Search for "CableWiFi".

At this weeks annual NCTA show Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable announced have agreed to combine their over 50,000 WiFi hotspots into a larger, co-managed network for authenticated subscribers, to be called "CableWiFi".

Simply, the five companies customers using PC tablets, smart phones, and other mobile devices will be able access any "CableWiFi" high-speed metro WiFi networks using a single login.

Craig Moffett, the oft-quoted media industry analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. commented:

While the announcement is not a surprise - many investors thought they already had - the strategic implications are profound. The unique usage characteristics of wireless networks leave the door open for a potentially very disruptive "WiFi-first" service. The dirty little secret of the wireless industry is the vast majority of usage comes from very limited places. If the cable companies can get that piece of the puzzle, they can do something interesting.

The implication is that in the future if you have one of these cable companies as your ISP, you might not need to pay for a large data plan from your cell service provider.

 

[TBoneit]

Here in the NYC metro Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable have been sharing their wireless hotspots for a while. Nit under one name of course. The One Wifi hotspot outside my window here shows all three cable companies under their own names so that the one hotspot looks like three.

 

[Earl Bonovich]

They are talking about it on CNN right now...

Interesting Idea, it is going to see where these 50,000 wifi spots are going to be.

 

[Drew2k]

Here in the NYC metro Cablevision, Comcast, and Time Warner Cable have been sharing their wireless hotspots for a while. Nit under one name of course. The One Wifi hotspot outside my window here shows all three cable companies under their own names so that the one hotspot looks like three.

Yup... I've been enjoying this for a couple of years. I registered my phone with Cablevision and can travel anywhere they have a partner WiFi zone and not have to sign-in again. It's very convenient, although for sure 4G is faster, so there are times I disable WiFi if I need quick response!