Cablevision announced that its broadband customers have accessed the 
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. Verizon Communications reportedly is preparing to offer its home broadband service customers free WiFi access at hotspots via an agreement with hotspot company Boingo. Last month Qwest rolled out free WiFi to its fixed high-speed Internet customers. The company is offering free access at 17,000 hotspots nationwide operated by AT&T.
For more:
- see this release
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