As promised, new Cablevision owner Altice has killed off Cablevision's Freewheel WiFi-based voice service. Introduced early last year, Freewheel offered non-Cablevision users unlimited data, texts and voice for $30 a month. If you're a Cablevision customer, that price tag fell to $10 a month. The effort was one of several ways that pre-Altice Cablevision hoped to lure customers away from their biggest competitor Verizon FiOS. The service used a Motorola G smartphone "optimized" for use with Freewheel, leaning heavily on Cablevision's growing footprint of Wi-Fi hotspots.
According to an
updated FAQ at the Cablevision website, the service is no longer being sold, and existing users should lose service shortly.
"Freewheel is no longer available for purchase," notes Cablevision. "If you are an existing Freewheel customer, your service will be discontinued at the start of your December bill cycle."
"All international calling services will end at the start of your November bill cycle and all outstanding international charges will appear on your final bill statement in December," adds the notice.
So on the down side, Cablevision users will no longer have access to this discounted voice option. On the bright side, Altice last week announced that it would be engaging in a major effort to
bring 10 Gbps-capable fiber to the home service to the majority of recently-acquired Cablevision and Suddenlink customers.