The largest US cable companies, Time Warner and Comcast, are planning to invest $3 billion in a WiMAX venture that would be operated by Sprint and Clearwire (the two companies that have struggled to build out WiMAX networks), according to the Wall Street Journal.
I remember posting an article last year about a Billings, Montana cable operator’s Wi-Fi over cable hotzone and stating: Cable companies, after all, enjoy pre-existing relationships with the municipalities in which they have video franchises. Their high-speed infrastructures are, for the most part, already built-out and they extend to a large number of homes in their market areas. Wi-Fi, by providing last-mile connectivity, enables them to further their reach, at least for data services. Given that the infrastructure is already in place, this could provide a cost-effective alternative for cities looking to minimize the costs of muni build-outs.
In another article, Who’s missing out on muni Wi-Fi: the cable guys but not much longer, Andy Abramson who writes an excellent blog called VoipWatch, postulated: But the companies that are missing the boat on WiFi, MuniWifi, Coffee shop WiFi and hotel WiFi are the cable MSOs. They already have the fiber in the ground that runs right past those locations. Their sales force already calls on many local merchants. I mean, how expensive is a router and what does it take to install a few cable drops and turn on broadband?
