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Cablevision (Optimum Online) starting Wi-Fi only phone service.

Discussion in 'Wireless News' started by JFB, Jan 26, 2015.

  1. JFB

    JFB Gold Senior Member
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    #1 JFB, Jan 26, 2015
  2. KevinJames

    KevinJames WA's 1st retired mod
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    Didn't some guy show up here about 2 years ago saying his company was starting up a wifi only phone service?
     
    #2 KevinJames, Jan 26, 2015
  3. JFB

    JFB Gold Senior Member
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    KevinJames - I don't remember that.
    There are some others like Freedom Pop and Republic Wireless the company I'm trying. The lowest RW plan is WiFi only, higher plans have Sprint network backup.
    One reason I wanted to try RW is that Optimum is my cable company and they do have the area very well covered with outdoor hotspots. Which reminds me -- I should go take a picture of one of those -- they hang from the cable wires.
     
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    #3 JFB, Jan 26, 2015
  4. bobolito

    bobolito Diamond Senior Member
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    I've tried to go WiFi only just for testing but it is just so unreliable. For one, you can't drive a car and stay on a wifi call. That is just impossible, unless the repeater is inside your car and you are moving with it. Secondly, the protocol is just not designed with mobility in mind so while you can move around in a limited area, such as your home, you can often run into glitches and drop the connection, and with Optimum WiFi too many indoor locations just don't have any signal. I've used it extensively and it is very hard to maintain a connection at most indoor places unless you are lucky and the WiFi hotspot is nearby. I mean, when it works, it's great, but it is just not something I would pay to have it as my main phone. Inside my house, Optimum WiFi only works on the second floor, but downstairs? forget it!

    By the way, I have seen their WiFi hotspots, the antenna looks like a small PVC pipe hanging down the cables and they are attached to a gray box. It is good that all the cable companies in the area have this alliance to cover each other with Wifi. Too bad Verizon is not part of that.
     
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    #4 bobolito, Apr 1, 2015
  5. JFB

    JFB Gold Senior Member
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    Republic Wireless is working for me so far. They are 'WiFi first' however which makes a difference in some of the situations you mention. I guess it just depends on individual circumstances. Clearly though the trend is that WiFi will continue to get better making this type of service more viable.
     
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    #5 JFB, Apr 2, 2015
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