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FranzH
@rr.com

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FranzH

Anon

[Internet] TWC Wifi Hotspots - Why?

Got a question...

I'm a new Time Warner Cable customer, and recently learned that TWC offers wifi hotspots at various locations. Basically, a wifi box hanging on the cables strung between the power/cable poles out on the street.

Cool idea, nice way to bring high speed wifi to the public, right?

Well, I suppose. But I can't really figure out what their purpose is. I used their free Wifi Finder app on my tablet, and it shows each of the hotspots around your location on a map. Cool, right?

Well, in order to use this map feature you need to be connected to the internet. But if you need to find a wifi hotspot, you are, by definition, NOT connected to the internet. So the best it can do for you is check your location using GPS and give you a list of hotspots in your area and their addresses.

But since they are wifi, that means their range is only around 200-300 feet, right? And what's worse, at this point in time in the Southern California area they are sprinkled around in a sparse pattern at locations that, to me, don't really make any sense. Yeah, they seem to be generally located near public parks, thought not always. But not hear, say, train or bus stations, where people might be waiting for transportation to work and want to get online. Many of them are just along public streets,and might be spaced hundreds of yards or even miles apart.

So I guess you're supposed to sit at home where you have cable internet, find out where a hotspot is on the map, then drive there to use it?

I don't know, I just dont get the point. And their Wifi Finder app is so slow that it's not like you'll be driving by a hotspot and suddenly hear a loud PING so you can stop....

I'm really scratching my head on this one.

Can anyone enlighten me?

DocDrew
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1 edit

DocDrew

Premium Member

You use it if it pops up. Is that so hard?

There are a few places I go where they're available, so I use them instead of my phones 3G. When not available, it's 3G for me.

It's just a convenience and part of a bigger network: »www.cablewifi.com/

FranzH
@rr.com

FranzH

Anon

said by DocDrew:

You use it if it pops up. Is that so hard?

No sir, not hard at all. But my question was regarding Purpose, not Difficulty.

Since it appears that the vast majority are located on public streets, right above the sidewalk, who in general would take advantage of them? I suppose if you're walking on the sidewalk with your smartphone or tablet or laptop you could stop on the sidewalk and use it while you're standing there.

Or if you've already checked the location when you were connected to the internet previously you could drive there and park somewhere nearby and use it.

But those seem like an extremely narrow group of users.

In my experience, if you're driving by a hotspot in a car it's not going to detect it in time.

I dunno, maybe it's part of some greater overall future plan I'm not seeing. But putting wifi on residential streets above the sidewalk seems of little value.

JSY
Premium Member
join:2000-04-05
Elmhurst, NY

JSY to FranzH

Premium Member

to FranzH
I think the purpose of these wifi hotspots is if you are out in those areas you mentioned (parks) where you would tend to be for an extended period of time. Places like train stations, etc. - while it might be nice, aren't the most idea places to have this. People are not there long enough.

The app is likely intended to be used on your smartphone that has a data connection so you can look for a wifi hotspot.

FranzH
@rr.com

FranzH

Anon

said by JSY:

I think the purpose of these wifi hotspots is if you are out in those areas you mentioned (parks) where you would tend to be for an extended period of time.

But that's my point...the VAST majority seem to be located somewhat randomly on public and residential streets, where nobody is there for an extended period except the nearby residents, if any. And presumably since there is a TWC cable running in front of the residence/business (or else the hotspot wouldn't exist), there's no need for an additional AP for the occupants since you can just run the cable inside and service not only internet but all the other stuff (TV, phone, etc.).

Check the TWC hotspot coverage map, you might be surprised at the locations....I'd love to hear the rationale TWC uses to site these...
Beremat
join:2009-07-12

Beremat

Member

they're pretty handy. there's a long park next to a residential area here in Brooklyn, and I get full bars along the entire length of the park. speeds and ping are fantastic, too

my guess is that TWC find them to be cheap, and easily marketable.

dark_star
join:2003-11-14
Louisville

dark_star to FranzH

Member

to FranzH
You don't mention your specific (city) location. But here is their national coverage map, and in some locations such as New York City there are many indoor locations.

»coverage.twcwifi.com/

I hope TWC expands the hot spots to Louisville which is where I live. Very handy for people like me who don't have an unlimited cell data plan.

FranzH
@rr.com

FranzH to Beremat

Anon

to Beremat
said by Beremat:

they're pretty handy. there's a long park next to a residential area here in Brooklyn, and I get full bars along the entire length of the park. speeds and ping are fantastic, too

my guess is that TWC find them to be cheap, and easily marketable.

BIngo!!! I think thats the bottom line...it SOUNDS good, and its relatively cheap for them to implement since u hang it on right on the cable....but in practice I think for most people its of little value....its nice if you walk down the sidewalk carrying a folding chair, or have a park near where you are and you know theres a hotspot....

On the beach in SoCal would be nice, but unfortunately the beach is often too far from the power and cable poles....

If anyone is familiar with south central LA, I found it kinda funny that one of the highest concentrations in the SoCal area is along Crenshaw Blvd in Gardena....talk about one of the last places youd hang out on the street doing internet....for those not familiar, its the heart of "the hood"....

Negotiated
@verizon.net

Negotiated

Anon

One thing you're wrong about is that they absolutely aren't cheap o implement! It's not buying a $20 router and mounting it. These things cost thousands of dollars, require plant crew to mount, require 60/90v power and continued maintenance.

FranzH
@rr.com

FranzH

Anon

said by Negotiated :

One thing you're wrong about is that they absolutely aren't cheap o implement! It's not buying a $20 router and mounting it. These things cost thousands of dollars, require plant crew to mount, require 60/90v power and continued maintenance.

I said "relatively" cheap to implement. Compared to mounting a box/manhole near the sidewalk (including permits I assume), running UG conduit to the house, running cable thru the house, etc., yeah, it's relatively cheap. And certainly a lot cheaper than installing mobile broadband cellsites.

But you raise a good point. They're investing a whole lot of money to do this. Which highlights my point...even though they're relatively cheap to implement, they're putting a lot of bucks into it, for, as far as I can see (and nobody's disproved me), they offer little real benefit to most of their customers.

insidertw
@rr.com

insidertw

Anon

I guess u don't see the benefit because u don't have access to logs that shows how many people use the service, how often an how much bandwith is consumed.if u don't want it or need it then dont use it!

FranzH
@rr.com

FranzH

Anon

said by insidertw :

I guess u don't see the benefit because u don't have access to logs that shows how many people use the service, how often an how much bandwith is consumed.if u don't want it or need it then dont use it!

Wow, thanks for that. I'll make a note.

Hmmm...let's see...if you don't want it or need it then don't use it...wow, words to live by.

Apparently this is a forum of tech guys who love technology, and who get a little grumpy if someone doesn't jump on the "all technology is awesome" bandwagon.

I'm just asking for a rational discussion of possible reasons why users might or might not consider these hotspots useful. I *thought* that maybe there were some knowledgeable people here who might have some insight into how these hotspots are used, and by whom. But I guess not. Sorry for the intrusion.

Brandon99
@rr.com

Brandon99

Anon

Same reason there are hotspots in libraries , businesses , parks, coffee shops. Everyone is online and people don't wanna burn their allotted cell data.

FranzH
@rr.com

FranzH

Anon

said by Brandon99 :

Same reason there are hotspots in libraries , businesses , parks, coffee shops. Everyone is online and people don't wanna burn their allotted cell data.

Right. It SOUNDS like a good idea. But as I've mentioned before (did you read the thread?) this isn't libraries, businesses, or coffee shops. It's out on the street, on the sidewalks.

Parks, maybe, though if you actually LOOK at the coverage map you can see zillions of parks that don't have it.

Never mind guys...I'll move on. This isn't the right forum to discuss this.
FranzH

FranzH to insidertw

Anon

to insidertw
said by insidertw :

I guess u don't see the benefit because u don't have access to logs that shows how many people use the service, how often an how much bandwith is consumed.if u don't want it or need it then dont use it!

By the way "twinsider" are you really a Time Warner "insider"? If so, and you really do have access to the user logs, I'm sure it's not against company policy to discuss who might be using these hotspots. Or do you not really know who uses them, and just want to sound smart ?

Packeteers
Premium Member
join:2005-06-18
Forest Hills, NY
Asus RT-AC3100
(Software) Asuswrt-Merlin

Packeteers to FranzH

Premium Member

to FranzH
Franz, they don't do it to bring wifi to the "public" but to their customer base.
where I live it's mostly by the commuter train stations, and that's about it.
the only truly public wifi is by the city Library, but that goes off after hours.

I live across from a city park and allow unsecured guest wifi access 9am-6pm,
but I log maybe two local IP people a week using it, and probably by accident,
not only don't we get free wifi anywhere, even when we do it's not expected.

RickGee
@rcn.com

RickGee to FranzH

Anon

to FranzH
"Cablewifi" which is built and shared by Comcast , TWC , cablevision and cox have 200,000 wifi hotspots. My guess is there is demand for it otherwise they wouldn't have that many. OP, were you looking for a response agreeing with you that the hotspots are all useless?????

FranzH
@rr.com

FranzH

Anon

said by RickGee :

OP, were you looking for a response agreeing with you that the hotspots are all useless?????

Geez, RickGee, I thought I was pretty clear on my purpose for starting the thread. I repeated it a bunch of times.

"I can't really figure out what their purpose is"

"I just don't get the point"

"my question was regarding Purpose"

"I'd love to hear the rationale TWC uses to site these..."

"I'm just asking for a rational discussion of possible reasons why users might or might not consider these hotspots useful. I *thought* that maybe there were some knowledgeable people here who might have some insight into how these hotspots are used, and by whom."

Do I need to repeat it again in a different way?

DocDrew
How can I help?
Premium Member
join:2009-01-28
SoCal
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1 edit

DocDrew

Premium Member

said by FranzH :

I'm just asking for a rational discussion of possible reasons why users might or might not consider these hotspots useful. I *thought* that maybe there were some knowledgeable people here who might have some insight into how these hotspots are used, and by whom.

I use what ever hotspot I find around on my cell phone if I need faster internet access than my 3G cell phone can provide and I'm not at home. Many of the people I know use them the same way, especially at lunch or hanging out after hours. Occasionally I'll catch a TWC WiFi if I'm at a restaurant on the edge of their residential service area.

TWC installs them mostly in residential neighborhoods because that is what they service. Their coax infrastructure which supports the WiFi hotspots often doesn't go into business districts.

I'd say its pretty good advertising that TWC internet service is available in the area. For those who don't have other internet access and happen to catch it on their phone, computer, or other wifi device, they suddenly have a clue there might be a provider in the area they can use. For TWC customers, it's a fringe benefit that might keep them from going to another provider who doesn't have such a service available.

The other nice thing about the TWC Wifi, is that it's part of the larger partnership with other cable providers doing the same thing, so TWC customer who roam into Comcast, Cox, Optimum, and others can use it. Comcast has gone so far as to force configure customer rented router/modems to have a cableWifi network broadcast for others to use.

Grazer
@23.235.25.x

Grazer

Anon

+1, Well said DrDrew. I don't get why users would complain about this great added value.
bodosom
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WNY/Niagara
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bodosom

Premium Member

said by Grazer :

I don't get why users would complain about this great added value

Because they don't say if you're in SFO, LAX, ORD or the DC-Boston corridor we have a service you can use (if you're standing in the right place). It's not like it's the Starbucks/McDonalds/Boingo services.

However I read it more as 'what's up with this?' rather than complaining.

Yowza these forums are harsh.

Elyria
join:2011-10-12
Elyria, OH

Elyria

Member

said by bodosom See Profile
However I read it more as 'what's up with this?' rather than complaining.

I read the exact same thing......he definitely was not being confrontational.

By his definition, the placement of "said" devices, probably has a positive
effect on.......maybe, 1/8 of 1% of all TW customers. He would be correct.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to FranzH

Member

to FranzH
TWC's CableWiFi system varies in coverage depending on the town you're in...drastically. Seems like their approach to covering areas also varies.

Here in Austin, it's the business districts that get the APs, rather than the residential ones. The office building where I've got a coworking membership has TWCWiFi in it, and the Chili's I had lunch at had a pretty good signal inside. Other places it's more hit-or-miss, but if I see CableWiFi chances are good that I'm a tone's throw or two away from a shopping center area or office park.

Maybe it's different in other areas, but TWC business cable connections power a significant number of businesses in the area. Sometimes I wish that the percentage was higher...the free WiFi in many of the restaurants I go to is quite slow...some people seem to think that T1s are still the new hotness (vs. a business cable connection backed up with something from a cell phone company).