Cablevision is set to debut a new low-cost mobile phone service next month that anyone with access to Wi-Fi will enjoy.
The service, called Freewheel, will provide customers with unlimited data, talk and text and will be offered exclusively with the Motorola Moto G smartphone, according to RTT News. Cablevision internet subscribers will be able to use this service in any location that allows Wi-Fi access.
The move makes Cablevision the first cable provider to introduce a service that works only for people with Wi-Fi connections.
The company currently has over 1.1 million hotspots in the New York tri-state area, having started creating its own Optimum Wi-Fi network in 2007, Gigaom reported.
Since Freewheel only offers the ability to talk and text on mobile phones in areas with Wi-Fi connections, users won't have any fall-back options to connect to mobile networks when they travel into an area that doesn't have Wi-Fi. As a result, the service is being target towards college campuses, urban areas and other "Wi-Fi rich environments" that have a large amount of mobile hotspots.
The new service is expected to help Cablevision compete with its main rival Verizon, which has so far gained an upper hand towards gaining internet customers with its FiOS broadband service, Gigaom reported. Cablevision will also have to do battle with FreedomPop, which debuted its own Wi-Fi-only service last year.
Freewheel will be available starting next month for $29.95 per month, and Cablevision's Optimum Online customers will be able to use the service for $9.95 per month. The Moto G, which will feature apps that automatically support all of Cablevision's hotspots, will go for $99.95.
