Cablevision Systems Corp. has opened up Optimum WiFi access at 11 main NJ Transit stations.
The availability to both Cablevision customers and other riders is the first manifestation under the 20-year, public-private wireless Internet partnership the parties announced last June.
Optimum WiFi is now available at various areas at Hoboken Terminal, Newark-Penn Station, Secaucus Junction, Meadowlands, Metropark, Montclair State University, New Brunswick, Newark Broad Street, Rahway, Summit and Trenton Transit Center. NJ Transit customers can now use Optimum WiFi on the stations’ platforms, in waiting areas and waiting rooms, and in areas adjacent to the stations as well as the various concourses between other transit systems. Cablevision customers can connect to WiFi for free, unlimited access on their devices by selecting “optimumwifi” from the list of available wireless networks and entering their Optimum Online ID and password.
Non-Optimum riders can sign up for five, free one-day passes per device for the lifetime of the device and later purchase a day pass for $4.99 that expires at midnight on the date of purchase. The day pass also includes access to the Optimum WiFi’s network of more than 100,000 hotspots across the Tri-State area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Cablevision also sells day passes to non-subscribers in some parks, as well as MacArthur Airport on Long Island.
The MSO will continue to build out WiFi hot spots across NJ Transit, but did not specify a time table to complete the footprint of the nation’s largest statewide public transportation system, comprising 164 rail stations and 61 light rail stations.
“Cablevision is committed to bringing WiFi to places that matter most to our customers, and expanding our WiFi presence to 11 train stations in the NJ Transit system is a natural extension of our robust network of more than 100,000 Tri-State hotspots,” said Cablevision senior vice president of broadband product management Gemma Toner. “We look forward to now providing NJ Transit passengers at these select stations with the superior Optimum WiFi experience our customers rely on even as we continue to deploy additional WiFi access sites at other NJ Transit stations and ultimately on the rail cars.”
“This public-private partnership will enable NJ Transit to deliver on one of the top requests from our customers—wireless Internet access at stations, and ultimately onboard trains,” noted NJ Transit executive director James Weinstein. “We are excited to work with Cablevision to further enhance the overall customer experience on our system by offering a dedicated WiFi connection, enabling those who wish to remain connected during their commute to do so continuously.”
