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For New Yorkers, Cablevision Introduces a Wi-Fi-Centric VoiP Network

Posted by timothy on from the they'll-take-manhattan dept.

The New York Times reports that Cablevision Systems plans to announce on Monday the start of a low-cost mobile phone service that will use Wi-Fi for connectivity rather than standard cellular networks, the first such service to be introduced by a cable operator. Called Freewheel, the service will offer unlimited data, talking and texting worldwide for $29.95 a month, or $9.95 a month for Cablevision’s Optimum Online customers — a steep discount compared with standard offerings from traditional cellular carriers. Freewheel customers initially must use a specific Motorola Moto G smartphone, which is being sold for $99.95. The service goes on sale next month, and no annual contract is required. (Reuters carries a similar story.)

8 of 43 comments (clear)

  1. $30/mo is a terrible price by sirwired · · Score: 4, Insightful

    $30/mo is a terrible price. If all you want is talk/text, you can get that, on an ACTUAL cellular network (Cricket/AT&T, and I'm sure other providers) for $25/mo. And, to top it off, they'll only charge you $25 for that Moto G, instead of $100.

    As a $5 add-on to your cable plan, it's pretty nice... but not at the "rack" rate.

    1. Re:$30/mo is a terrible price by Gaygirlie · · Score: 2

      "the service will offer unlimited data, talking and texting" -- Unlimited data. Notice that bit there? I have no idea how fast it is or anything, but last I heard nearly all carriers in the US have ridiculously low datacaps.

    2. Re:$30/mo is a terrible price by mjm1231 · · Score: 2

      Since the data is wifi only, I doubt data caps are an issue. On the other hand, as someone who lives in the region (and who is a customer) I know firsthand that there are plenty of dead spots where there will be no access. Want to call home from the supermarket to see if you need milk? You're going to need to walk out to the parking lot first.

      On a side note, Cablevision offers customers free wifi routers for home use with their service. These routers also act as wifi hotspots for their network.

      --
      Ideology: A tool used primarily to avoid the bother of thinking.
    3. Re:$30/mo is a terrible price by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      If you could run asterisk on your handheld, then you could reasonably just connect it to a SIP trunk and get the same functionality for $8/mo. Anyone know anyone working on an asterisk port to Android? I heard that the Serval Project has done it. But what I think is needed is just an asterisk APK with asterisk and a simple config GUI that gives enough functionality to just get basic trunking working. Voicemail would be stored on the phone itself in this case, which would also be very cool.

      Maybe I should explore the NDK finally

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  2. Republic Wireless by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Republic Wireless offers the same thing for $5/month.

  3. Comcast hijacking home routers' wireless... by bwcbwc · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The whole controversy last year about Comcast offering public wi-fi using the routers they supply to their home customers suddenly makes a lot more sense. Normal wi-fi data usage from outside users in a residential area is not a widely used feature, but "cellular" wireless is much more common. I bet we'll see a similar service (similarly priced) from them shortly.

    --
    We are the 198 proof..
  4. $TMUS T-Mobile is for iPhones? by AlexanderNuttall · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "T-Mobile, for example, offers a Wi-Fi router that is designed to allow iPhone owners to place phone calls over a Wi-Fi connection. That helps offload some of the traffic that would have gone on T-Mobile’s voice network, but it also compensates for areas where T-Mobile has poor coverage." The writer wrote the above last paragraph. His research was quite limited. T-Mobile offers this to all smart phones. WiFi calling is so that you can make calls inside a building or place where the cell-tower coverage may be weak or inadequate. T-mobile WiFi works all over the planet earth. I was in Moscow, Russia making calls from a McDonald's WiFi to phones in Russia and the United States. You can buy a cheap android phone for $35 NEW! and benefit from this. Compliment this with Google Voice and/or Hangouts and you have a killer phone for a monthly fee of starting at $30 for WiFi (international) and 5GB 4GLTE (US).

  5. WiFi? Google Voice by crow · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If you only want to make calls over WiFi, then the solution already exists. Sign up for a Google Voice number, then install the Google Hangouts Dialer, and you're all set.

    The potential value-add here is not the voice or texting service, but access to the WiFi network.