Cable Industry Provides Cross-Carrier Wi-Fi > Cable Industry Provides Cross-Carrier Wi-Fi

Cable Industry Provides Cross-Carrier Wi-Fi

Agreed. Or just start handing out routers like Illiad (Free.fr) is doing with their STBs...the cable modem is a wireless router with an SSID that's accessible by cable customers, is sectioned off of the rest of the network, and doesn't impact the speed of the business user when guests are online.

To be fair though, the equipment that CV has beployed in the NYC area is high-end stuff, such that they can offer something like 15 Mbps down, 2 Mbps up over WiFi reliably (wish TWC or Comcast did that in their areas).

Wont happen, new security standards for most business does not allow this to happen at all.

reply to iansltx
The problem with just handing out WiFi capable routers is that many business manager or owners will stick it in any old spot they have with no thought to signal coverage. A good installation that provides adequate signal coverage for a particular structure may require multiple access points. I would rather the owners pay the wholesale costs for equipment and have any labor cost at no charge. A good installation technician who can run cabling to multiple APs, set signal levels, and check coverage is the most costly element. And it is the one with the most variables.

reply to davidhoffman
Ouch. Read the reports. Hot Spot Squatting is on the rise. The last thing any business wants is to add a public hotspot. They have to use a hook at my local coffee spot.

If these guys keep lowering caps, you will have people driving all over the place to get their fix and if this correlates to public businesses this can mean either MORE business or squatting. Depending upon the location this may be good or bad.

And what's to stop these guys for charging for this..You know that's coming.

reply to davidhoffman
They do not need business owners approval at all. The AP's are on the poles connected to the HFC network. They run on their own frequency on the coax that is different then the cablemodem and stb frequencies.

Its just a matter of the cablecompany taking the AP and hanging it on the pole.

reply to elefante72
There are hardware, software, and communication ways to deal with squatters. Yes, you can connect here. No, we do not have any power outlets in the customer area that work. The manager at one coffeehouse disconnected the electrical outlets for one of the most popular areas of seating in the establishment. It was near the order pick up area. The squatters needed electricity, but they would have to go away from the self-serve coffee and drink refill areas to get it. Some days there is no power at any outlets in the customer seating area. Squatters like reliable sources of electricity and she is not going to give it to them. I have read about sophisticated electrical control systems that can be programmed to stop or start the flow of electricity to outlets based on a schedule the
owner can set up. No outlet electricity during busy times when table turn over needs to be as fast as possible. Electrical power available during slack times.

I think one of the reasons the cable industry is doing this is the ridiculous AT&T and Verizon positions that businesses that are provisioned with a typical 3.0Mbps DSL circuit are really offering a great WiFi experience for a business's many customers. AT&T and Verizon have got some minor positive PR for their WiFi programs. The cable companies want some of that also, and know that if they do it correctly, they can probably get even more positive public relations out of WiFi sponsorship. Think about an 8 bonded channel down, 4 bonded channel up, DOCSIS 3.0 connection compared to a 3.0Mbps down, 0.375Mbps up DSL connection for a 100 seat coffee house. All else being equal, which is going to deliver a better WiFi experience?

Could they charge for it? Yes. But here's something I think they are looking at. It is a big giant advertising campaign for the cable industry, with the local cable company's logo displayed somehow alongside the national WiFi HotSpot logo. Most likely it is less expensive than other ways of trying to make a despised industry look good. They also want to try to get more people who do not subscribe to cable broadband, in areas with existing cable plant, to sign up. If you can support a bunch of 100 seat coffee and sandwich shops, certainly you must be able to provide good service to my home.

reply to BosstonesOwn
What security standards do not allow this WiFi common log in?

reply to majortom1029
I have seen that and one light one from Ruckus Wireless that can hang on the cables between poles. The problem with that setup is that there is less of a environment of concern about the AP not working. Who do you report a bad AP to? By engaging businesses, you can have a point of contact person who can take note of the failed AP, from a customer commenting about it, and report it to the cable company for repair. Also, exterior only APs do not necessarily provide good interior coverage. I think both exterior and interior APs need to be used to get comprehensive service in an area. But if there were no cooperating businesses, you are correct, I would rather have an exterior only AP than nothing.

reply to davidhoffman
Basic security standards for the "business". Basically any wifi that is not protected by 2 forms of auth is supposed to be physically segmented off of the network and broken apart by a firewall.

It's something to do with protecting employee info. I forget the actual law # but I remember 2 years ago going over it and realizing it would cost us almost 13 grand for just the hardware.
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