Cablevision: Broadband customers used WiFi more than 2 million times

Cablevision announced that its broadband customers have accessed the [1]Internet more than 2 million times for free over its Optimum WiFi service and are averaging more than 1 million minutes online per day since rolling out the service in the fall of last year.

The cable provider, which embarked on a strategy to build its own WiFi footprint and offer the service for free to its paying broadband customers, said its WiFi service marked the 2-million user session mark in less than half the time it took to surpass the 1 million session milestone, which was less than three months.

Cablevision's WiFi service is available across the operator's Long Island, Connecticut, Westchester/Dutchess and New Jersey service areas. 

Free WiFi offerings are increasingly becoming a competitive tool for fixed broadband providers. AT&T said in April that the number of WiFi users and connections dramatically increased on its 20,000-some domestic hotspots [2]. Verizon Communications reportedly is preparing to offer its home broadband service customers free WiFi access at hotspots via an agreement with hotspot company Boingo [3]. Last month Qwest rolled out free WiFi to its fixed high-speed Internet customers [4]. The company is offering free access at 17,000 hotspots nationwide operated by AT&T.

For more:
- see this release [1]

Related articles:
Cablevision will deliver 3 Mbps [5] WiFi in May
Is WiFi the answer for cable companies [6]?
Dell'Oro: WiFi boosted Cablevision's subscriber adds [7]
AT&T gives all DSL subs free WiFi access [8]
WiFi: [9] More relevant than ever