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Cablevision to Build Footprint Wide Wi-Fi Mesh Network
08 May, 2008
Cablevision, a cable triple play pioneer, announced plans to launch a broadband wireless network covering their New York metro footprint within two years. The new network will be based on Wi-Fi mesh technology and will be offered at no charge to existing Cablevision customers and for a fee for non-Cablevision customers. Cablevision has about 3.3 million customers and an industry leading broadband penetration rate of 50%. This launch follows a trend by other smaller cable MSOs and broadband service providers, who see broadband wireless networks as a value add opportunity for existing customers.
This is not just about broadband Internet access though. For example, Multichannel News describes a possible scenario offered by Cisco, where “… a Wi-Fi mesh network could allow a cable operator to offer subscribers ubiquitous connectivity in a metro area for any service. For example, someone watching TV could choose to transfer the video signal to a cellular phone and walk outside if Cisco’s Cable Service Mesh is deployed in the subscriber’s neighborhood.” Applications like that could provide tangible competitive advantage. At least until Verizon integrates a similar service utilizing FiOS and LTE. With announcements like this and the recent WiMAX joint venture featuring prominent cable companies, it appears as if cable is getting their wireless mojo going.
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Featured Article
Clearwire Outlines 4G World Domination Plans
12 Jun, 2008
Clearwire is feeling quite confident these days. The emerging WiMAX provider held an investor conference and outlined their plan for 4G domination. We're "building the communications company of the future, today," says Clearwire CEO Ben Wolf. Clearwire chief strategy officer Scott Richardson calls it "the second coming of the Internet." It was quite the WiMAX pep rally. Clearwire executives say they intend to build a seamless nationwide 4G network way ahead of their competitors, namely Verizon and AT&T.
From a powerpointware perspective, the strategy looks real impressive. Clearwire intends to offer a five product suite of services which will include residential voice and broadband, mobile voice and broadband, and mobile entertainment. They intend to leverage their investor partners considerably, gaining access to tens of millions of existing subscriber relationships immediately. With their cable company partners, they intend to extend the cable entertainment experience "into the palms of consumer's hands." They intend to utilize Google's Android platform for a suite of "compelling" mobile applications. Intel will contribute by powering millions of end user devices and do for WiMAX what it did for Wi-Fi, in effect bringing it to the mainstream. Wolf says that the average consumer's total household spend on communications, ranging from $109-$258, is up for grabs, and they intend to capture as much of it as possible.