UPDATED: Comcast joins Cablevision in exploring Wi-Fi as a new service, which will allow both to better compete in the communications marketplace against phone providers such as Verizon. Trials of a free Wi-Fi system for customers at New Jersey Transit commuter rail stations have been underway since Jan. 30.
Comcast has
rolled out an early test of a free Wi-Fi system for customers who use the New
Jersey Transit system. According to news reports, some 100 rail stations and
parking lots will become wireless hot spots, accessible to Comcast customers
who sign in with their user names and passwords.
Comcast spokesperson Mary Nell Westbrook told Broadband Reports that the
local trial was a "beta test service" to gauge user interest.
According to the company, the test will offer Wi-Fi speeds of 1.5M bps.
Participating stations include those in the Main-Bergen
County area, the Northeast
Corridor, Glen Rock, the Montclair-Boonton area, Morris, Essex,
the North Jersey
Coast, Pascack
Valley and Raritan
Valley, according to the
Associated Press.
Comcast
has been working with its rival,
Cablevision, on technical testing for the free
Wi-Fi service; both are attempting to compete with phone provider offerings
such as Verizon FiOS. Should the trial prove successful, Comcast may roll out a
nationwide Wi-Fi service, which would be separate from its pre-existing
Clearwire wireless venture.
Cablevision already offers Wi-Fi in Long Island,
Connecticut and Westchester/Dutchess
counties.
New Jersey commuters should be
interested in the service. According to a recent survey of 2,700 Wi-Fi users
commissioned by Devicescape, a provider of Wi-Fi software solutions, some 91
percent expected Wi-Fi while on the road.
"Getting the service out there and offering it free of charge is an
enhancement," Doug Williams, an analyst with Forrester Research, said in
an interview. "It's a necessary move, because consumers' ability to pay in
this economy is limited. With wireless, Comcast isn't competing against
Cablevision; they're competing against telecoms, which do have a wireless
affiliate."
Editor's Note: This article was updated to include additional
information from Comcast and Forrester Research.
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