Cablevision is moving into offering mobile phone services, albeit without cellular connectivity. Launching in February,
Freewheel is said to be mobile phone operator that works on Wi-Fi alone, with customers able to use public hotspots while away from home in order to use the service for phone calls, texts, and using the Internet.
GigaOm reports that existing subscribers of Cablevision's Optimum Online Internet service will be able to use Freewheel for $10 per month, including unlimited talk and text as well as Internet. Non-Optimum Online customers will be able to get the same benefits, but at a much higher $30 per month. International calling rates are also lower than normal, with some countries priced at 2 cents per minute, though the service will only permit up to $50 of international calls at this rate per month.
The service will also only work with one smartphone at launch, with the $100
Motorola Moto G customized with apps that will automatically authenticate it with any Cablevision hotspots. So far, this includes over 1.1 million Optimum Wi-Fi hotspots and access points in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, though there are also 300,000 hotspots available to customers across the United States via the
CableWiFi initiative.
While launching a mobile phone service that operates over Wi-Fi may seem limiting compared to cellular networks, it does give a few advantages to Cablevision. First, it is far cheaper for it to launch as a mobile service through Wi-Fi, as it does not need to negotiate with existing carriers to operate on their networks as an MVNO, nor does it have to pay to install its own cell towers. It also allows Cablevision to offer its customers a "quad play" service, combining mobile calling with its existing cable TV, Internet, and home phone triple play package.
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