Bright House builds 2,000 WiFi hotspots in Florida

Bright House Networks is using 2,000 WiFi hotspots it has built in Florida to offer high-speed Internet access in public areas to its cable modem subscribers. The MSO may also be able to attract customers from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and other rivals by pitching the product to non-subscribers.

Bright House mobile app

Bright House is using WiFi gear from Canadian vendor BelAir Networks, which also supplies WiFi hardware and software to Cablevision (NYSE: CVC), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) and Time Warner Cable  (NYSE: TWC). Its high-speed Internet subscribers get access to the WiFi hotspots for free. It is charging non-subscribers that discover its WiFi hotspots on their mobile phones, tablets or laptops fees ranging from $1.99 per minute to $19.95 weekly for wireless Internet access.

With sales of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets computers like Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPad and Amazon's (Nasdaq: AMZN) Kindle Fire continuing to increase, offering access to WiFi hotspots can help cable MSOs that market triple plays of digital video, high-speed Internet and telephone service differentiate themselves from satellite rivals DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH). While AT&T (NYSE: T) has a nationwide network of WiFi hotspots, and supplies Starbucks and McDonalds stores with WiFi gear for free Internet access, Verizon (NYSE: VZ) operates few WiFi access points.

For more:
- The Daytona Beach News-Journal has this story

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