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The "Freewheel" phone service, which runs on any
WiFi connection, is an attempt by Cablevision to retain and
potentially add subscribers at a time when cable companies are
losing out to lower-priced, bundled TV and Internet services
from telecom firms.
Cablevision said the phone service was the first of its kind to
be launched by a cable company and aims to tap users seeking to
download unlimited amounts of data on their mobile phones using
WiFi, which is less expensive than a cellular connection.
Such services could pose a challenge to traditional telecom
carriers. Currently, carrier Republic Wireless and
Massachusetts-based startup Scratch Wireless offer users similar
services that use WiFi to control data costs.
"There has been a dramatic shift in how consumers use their
mobile devices: today, it's all about data, and WiFi is now
preferred and clearly superior to cellular," Kristin Dolan,
chief operating officer of Cablevision, said in the statement.
Cablevision, controlled by New York's Dolan family, has been
investing in its "Optimum" WiFi network since 2007, setting up
over 1.1 million WiFi hotspots or access points in New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut.
Cablevision's WiFi phone service will be offered at $29.95 per
month and $9.95 per month for subscribers of its "Optimum
Online" service. It will be available exclusively on the
Motorola Moto G smartphone that users will have to purchase, the
company said.
The $180 Android phone will be sold to "Freewheel" users without
a contract at a discounted price of $99.95, it added.
(Reporting by Malathi Nayak)
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