TW Cable Lights Up Wi-Fi in Hawaii

Time Warner Cable’s Wi-Fi deployment has reached the shores of Hawaii as the operator’s Oceanic division boots up more than 400 access points in the Aloha State, with “hundreds more” to be added later this year.

The initial deployment in Oahu covers areas such as Sunset Beach, Kailua District Park and the Stan Sheriff Arena. TWC’s rollout there is based on access points made by Ruckus Wireless, according to a spokeswoman. Depending on the market, TWC also sources Wi-Fi gear from Cisco Systems and Ericsson.

With the current rollout in Hawaii factored in, TWC has deployed more than 20,000 hotspots across its launched Wi-Fi footprint, which also includes Southern California; New York City; Austin, Texas; and Kansas City.

Used primarily as a retention tool, TWC provides free access to its Wi-Fi network to residential customers who take the company’s “Standard” Internet tier (up to 15 Mbps) or higher, and to its business service customers. Those customers can login to hotspots broadcasting the “TWCWiFi” service set identifier (SSID).

Time Warner Cable and its Wi-Fi roaming partners – Comcast, Cablevision  Systems, Cox Communications, and Bright House Networks – have deployed more than 150,000 hotspots.  Of that group, Comcast has recently put up 200 more in pockets of North Georgia and Tennessee, Nooga.com reported Friday.