Cablevision System Corporation announced on Monday that it will launch its newest service on February. The company's newest offering is a Wi-Fi based phone plan that will serve as an alternative for pricier plans currently offered by the four network giants like AT&T, Sprint, Verizon and T-Mobile.
Cablevision's newest product is called "Freewheel," instead of using regular cellular phone network the phone service will run on internet data connection through the Wi-Fi medium. This move is the company's attempt to retain as well as attract its current user-base, according to a Reuters.
The current trend among consumers is reportedly bundling their internet service along with cable or TV networks in order to minimize monthly costs.
Cablevision claimed that they are the first cable company to offer such services. The new service offers its consumer unlimited amounts of data on their phones by means of Wi-Fi network rather than the tradition and expensive cellular connection.
"Freewheel" will offer unlimited talk time, unlimited worldwide texting and unlimited data for only $29.95 per month, moreover, the company offers the same service for only $9.95 to its Optimum Online customers, according to the New York Times.
There is a catch though, the service will only be available to a specific phone, the Motorola Moto G smartphone that customer will have to purchase in order to avail the services of "Freewheel."
Many critics were also skeptical about the new service especially its signal range. Unlike traditional cellular services that offers network to almost everywhere, "Freewheel" is only available if there is a Wi-Fi network present within the area and the service will be interrupted once it left the Wi-Fi range.
Additionally, Cablevision has been toiling for the last eight years in order to build its own Wi-Fi network and currently offers more than 1.1 million hotspot locations available for both indoor and outdoor access within the New York metro region.